Joan P. Beckta v. Everett, City of - Solicitor's Office (SPR 20241961)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records July 23, 2024 SPR24/1961 Maryann Mayo Records Access Officer City of Everett 484 Broadway Everett, MA 02149 Dear Ms. Mayo: I have received the petition of Joan P. Beckta appealing the response of the City of Everett (City) to a request for public records. See G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). On April 22, 2024, Ms. Beckta requested, “[t]he document that the mayor based his ‘have to keep it’ statement on. He said at the 4/22/24 City Council meeting that he was told years ago that he ‘couldn’t get rid of’ the old high school.” Previous appeal This request was the subject of a previous appeal. See SPR24/1347 Determination of the Supervisor of Records (May 17, 2024). In my May 17th determination, I found that the City must provide further explanation as to how it arrived at the calculation of 4 hours, and state what tasks are involved in its calculation. The City provided a response on May 20, 2024. Unsatisfied with the City’s response, Ms. Beckta petitioned this office and this appeal, SPR24/1961, was opened as a result. Fee estimates – 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, 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

Maryann Mayo SPR24/1961 Page 2 July 23, 2024 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, 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 City’s April 30th and May 20th fee estimates In its prior April 30, 2024 fee estimate, the City assessed a fee of $50 to produce responsive records based upon 2 hours. The City provided a breakdown as follows: Department Solicitor Estimated Hours 2.00 Hourly Rate $25.00 Estimated Personnel Cost $50.00 In a further response on April 30th, the City stated, “[t]hese documents, if they exist, are in the archives. It would take at least 4 hours to try and find the documents related to the reuse committee and its work.” In its May 20, 2024 response, the City stated: There are over a thousand boxes stored in the archive room at city hall. Some of these boxes are labeled which would make it easy to retrieve documents. Many of the Solicitor files are not labeled correctly. The City Clerk hired a company to organize the filing system for all city archives. My office requested this company to maintain our filing system and merge it with theirs, however, that did not happen. My office would have to comb through the hundreds of boxes assigned to my office to try to determine if there are responsive documents to Ms. Beckta’s request. I have gone down to the archives to look for archived documents in the recent past and it has taken hours to find responsive documents. In my opinion, 4 hours is a generous estimate. Current Appeal In her appeal, Ms. Beckta states, “I am not satisfied with the City’s answer. I still don’t see why I should have to pay because the City didn’t bother to keep its records in good order….Your determination said the City was to provide you with an assurance that the lowest- paid qualified employee would conduct the search…. She only stated that when she went down to look for something, it took her a long time…. I don’t think that should take more than 3 hours,

Maryann Mayo SPR24/1961 Page 3 July 23, 2024 that is, I am willing to pay $25….” Although the City has indicated it will require 4 hours to produce responsive documents based on previous searches of the archive room, it remains uncertain why the City requires 4 hours to search for the responsive records. Please be advised that the City cannot charge a requestor for the time it takes to search for responsive records based on the organization and management of its records. Public records must be maintained and kept in a manner that allows access by the public, as they are subject to mandatory disclosure upon request. G. L. c. 66, § 10(a); see G. L. c. 66, § l2; see also Reinstein v. Police Comm’r of Boston, 378 Mass. 281, 289- 90 (1979). Further, it is unclear if the City’s fee estimate took into account the first 2 free hours. 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). The City must clarify this matter. For the reasons discussed above, I find the City must revise its fee estimate or provide further explanation of how the fee assessed is expressly provided for and consistent with G. L. c. 66, § 10(d). Conclusion Accordingly, the City is ordered to provide Ms. Beckta with a response to the request, provided in a manner consistent with this order, the Public Records Law and its Regulations within ten (10) business days. A copy of any such response must be provided to this office. It is preferable to send an electronic copy of the response to this office at pre@sec.state.ma.us. Ms. Beckta may appeal the substantive nature of the City’s response within ninety (90) days. See 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Sincerely, Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records cc: Joan P. Beckta