Kim Jekyll v. Dukes County Regional Housing Authority (SPR 20250336)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records February 6, 2025 SPR25/0336 David Vigneault Executive Director Dukes County Regional Housing Authority 21 Mechanic Street, P. O. Box 4538 Vineyard Haven, MA 02568 Dear Director Vigneault: I have received the petition of Kim Jekyll appealing the response of the Dukes County Regional Housing Authority (Authority) to a request for public records. See G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). On December 24, 2024, Ms. Jekyll requested “[a]ll 2020 to 2024 home inspection reports created for the Dukes County Housing Authority or at the request of the Dukes County Housing Authority.” Prior Appeals This request was the subject of prior appeals. See SPR25/0025 Determination of the Supervisor of Records (January 3, 2025) and SPR25/0052 Determination of the Supervisor of Records (January 16, 2025). In my January 16th determination, I ordered the Authority to revise its fee estimate or provide further explanation of how the estimate was consistent with G. L. c. 66, § 10(d). The Authority provided a response on January 28, 2025. Unsatisfied with the Authority’s response, Ms. Jekyll petitioned this office, and this appeal, SPR25/0336, was opened as a result. Subsequent to the opening of this appeal, the Authority provided a response on February 5, 2025. 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). 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

David Vigneault SPR25/0336 Page 2 February 6, 2025 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, 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 Authority’s January 28th and February 5th Responses In its January 28, 2025 response, the Authority assessed a fee of $100.00 to provide Ms. Jekyll with an estimated five hundred pages of responsive records. In its February 5, 2025 response, the Authority clarified its fee estimate as follows: The period requested encompasses five years and would total roughly five hundred (500) 1-page documents. Accordingly, we would ask for a payment of twenty-five dollars ($25.00) to cover the copying costs at $.05 (five cents) per copy as listed in the Department of Public Records Guide to Mass Public Records Law, 2020. Additional to the allowable cost per copy made, the Housing Authority estimates a total of three (3) hours in search of specific annual inspection documents, followed by one half (1/2) hour of copying, and one half (1/2) hour for scanning and sending the 500 copies to the requester. The total of four (4) working hours required by our staff to fulfill the request correctly, would be reduced by the two (2) hours mandated as unbillable for municipal entities working with populations over 20,000. A total of two hours at the mandated rate of twenty-five dollars ($25) per hour for a total of fifty dollars ($50) added to the twenty-five dollars ($25) for five hundred (500) copies – to be specifically affirmed at the conclusion of document collection – would bring the total billing allowed to seventy-five dollars ($75). In a January 9, 2025 email communication to Ms. Jekyll, the Authority confirmed that the lowest paid employee with the skill necessary to respond to the request is paid at a rate of greater than $25.00 per hour. Where the Authority has explained the amount of time it requires to search for, compile, and reproduce the requested records and confirmed that the lowest paid individual with the skill

David Vigneault SPR25/0336 Page 3 February 6, 2025 necessary to perform those tasks is paid more than $25.00 per hour, I find that the Authority has met its burden to establish that it would take this amount of time to produce the responsive records. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(d) (a records access officer may assess a reasonable fee for the production of a public record). Conclusion Accordingly, I will now consider this administrative appeal closed. If Ms. Jekyll is not satisfied with the resolution of this administrative appeal, please be advised that this office shares jurisdiction with the Superior Court of the Commonwealth. See G. L. c. 66, §§ 10(b)(ix), 10A(c) (pursuing administrative appeal does not limit availability of judicial remedies). Sincerely, Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records cc: Kim Jekyll