Blue POV v. Springfield, City of - Police Department (SPR 20233021)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records December 28, 2023 SPR23/3021 Jeremy Saint Laurent, Esq. First Associate City Solicitor City of Springfield 36 Court Street Springfield, MA 01103 Dear Attorney Saint Laurent: I have received the petition of Blue POV appealing the response of the Springfield Police Department (Department) to a request for public records. See G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). On September 23, 2023, the requestor sought “[a]ll body cam footage of arresting officer for the arrest of [a named individual] arrested for… disorderly conduct…” Prior Appeals This request was the subject of a previous appeal. See SPR23/2456 Determination of the Supervisor of Records (October 26, 2023) and SPR23/2808 Determination of the Supervisor of Records (December 4, 2023). In my December 4th determination, it was my understanding that the Department provided a further response on December 1, 2023. Unsatisfied with the response, the requestor petitioned this office and this appeal, SPR23/3021, was opened as a result. Fee estimate – municipalities A municipality may assess a reasonable fee for the production of a public record except those records that are freely available for public inspection. G. L. c. 66, § 10(d). The fees must reflect the actual cost of complying with a particular request. Id. A maximum fee of five cents ($.05) per page may be assessed for a black and white single or double-sided photocopy of a public record. G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(i). Municipalities may not assess a fee for the first (two) 2 hours of employee time to search for, compile, segregate, redact or reproduce the record or records requested unless the municipality has 20,000 people or less. G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iii). Where appropriate, municipalities may include as part of the fee an hourly rate equal to or less than the hourly rate attributed to the lowest paid employee who has the necessary skill required to search for, One Ashburton Place, Room 1719, Boston, Massachusetts 02108 • (617) 727-2832• Fax: (617) 727-5914 sec.state.ma.us/pre • pre@sec.state.ma.us

Jeremy Saint Laurent, Esq. SPR23/3021 Page 2 December 28, 2023 compile, segregate, redact or reproduce a record requested, but the fee shall not be more than $25 per hour. Id. However, municipalities may charge more than $25 per hour if such rate is approved by the Supervisor of Records under a petition under G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iv). A fee shall not be assessed for time spent segregating or redacting records unless such segregation or redaction is required by law or approved by the Supervisor of Records under a petition under G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iv). See G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iii); 950 C.M.R. 32.06(4). The Department’s December 1st Response In its December 1, 2023 response, the Department provided a fee estimate of $62.50. Current Appeal In the appeal, the requestor states, “[m]y original appeal was because I was going to make the payment, but [the Department] claims to only accept check or money order, not credit or debit card. I want to stay as anonymous as possible as it is my right, and I believe that these options are a way to find out my identity, as sending money through the mail, you would need your home return address, and the only other option is to go to the station in person to drop the payment off. Which would be difficult as I do not live in that area or even close to that area. Their response had nothing to do with my concerns of trying to pay the fee and stay anonymous… Might I add that I did ask for the fee to be waived in my original request…” Fee Waivers G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(v) provides the following with respect to waiving a fee for the production of responsive records: the records access officer may waive or reduce the amount of any fee charged under this subsection upon a showing that disclosure of a requested record is in the public interest because it is likely to contribute significantly to public understanding of the operations or activities of the government and is not primarily in the commercial interest of the requestor, or upon a showing that the requestor lacks the financial ability to pay the full amount of the reasonable fee. Please be advised, although the Supervisor may encourage fees to be waived, the Supervisor may not mandate that a records access officer waive fees assessed for complying with a public records request; rather, as described above, the records access officer may waive or reduce the amount of any fee upon a showing of various factors. See G. L. c. 66, § 10 (d)(v); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.07(2)(k). In compliance with the Public Records Law, the Supervisor of Records may only issue determinations where a violation of G. L. c. 66, § 10 has occurred. See G. L. c. 66, § 10A (a). Where the requestor has agreed to pay the fee estimate, it appears that there is no violation of G.

Jeremy Saint Laurent, Esq. SPR23/3021 Page 3 December 28, 2023 L. c. 66, § 10. Therefore, this office is unable to issue a determination at this time. I encourage the requestor and the Department to communicate in order to facilitate producing records efficiently and affordably. The Department must use its knowledge of the records to facilitate providing any responsive records. Conclusion Accordingly, I will consider this administrative appeal closed. Sincerely, Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records cc: Blue POV Stephen Roche, Esq.