Jennifer McCarthy v. Nahant, Town of - Town Clerk (SPR 20243294)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records December 12, 2024 SPR24/3294 Diane Dunfee Town Clerk & Elections Chief Records Access Officer Town of Nahant 334 Nahant Road Nahant, MA 01908 Dear Ms. Dunfee: On December 6, 2024, this office received your petition on behalf of the Town of Nahant (Town) requesting permission to assess fees for time spent segregating and redacting responsive records. G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iv); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.06(4). As required by law, it is my understanding that the Town furnished a copy of the petition to the requestor, Jennifer McCarthy. G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iv)(2). On November 30, 2024, Ms. McCarthy requested “[a]ny public records (emails, letters, text messages) pertaining to the Bayside located at [a specified address] for the past two years.” Subsequently, in an email to this Office on December 11, 2024, the Town states “[I] have fully reviewed all of the exemptions allowed to charge a fee for segregation and redaction. I did not see any allowable exemptions to segregate and redact personal emails, addresses or phone numbers or social security #’s except for those referenced in exemption ‘o’ and ‘p’ which is primarily members of or family member of governmental employees. For this reason, I am retracting appeal for additional fees for SPR24/3294.” In light of the above, it is unnecessary to opine on the Town’s petition requesting permission to charge for time spent segregating or redacting responsive records. Sincerely, Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records cc: Jennifer McCarthy 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