Christian Tobin v. Dalton, Town of - Fire District (SPR 20250750)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records March 26, 2025 SPR25/0750 Melanie Roucoulet Treasurer/Clerk Dalton Fire District Town of Dalton 20 Flansburg Avenue Dalton, MA 01226 Dear Ms. Roucoulet: I have received the petition of Christian Tobin appealing the response of the Dalton Fire District (District) to a request for public records. See G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). On February 22, 2025, Mr. Tobin requested eleven categories of records, concerning certain grants, funds, training records, reports, and email communications. The District provided a response on March 7, 2025. Unsatisfied with the response, Mr. Tobin petitioned this office and this appeal, SPR25/0750, 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, 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). 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

Melanie Roucoulet SPR25/0750 Page 2 March 26, 2025 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 District’s March 7th Response In its March 7, 2025 response, the District assessed a fee of $3,787.50 - $5,050.00 to provide the responsive records. The District estimated that it would require 150 – 200 hours to search for and redact the responsive records. The District stated that redaction would be necessary under Exemption (f), and to remove “personal or protected health information.” To perform these tasks, the District assessed an hourly rate of $25.00. The District further estimated that it would be necessary to copy 750 – 1,000 pages of records, at a rate of $0.05 per page. Although the District has estimated that the process of compiling, reviewing, and preparing responsive documents for production will take 150 – 200 hours of employee time, the District has not provided sufficient explanation of why 150 – 200 hours of employee time is necessary. The District must provide a specific time estimate, rather than a range of possible times. The District must also advise how many hours it requires to search and how many hours it requires to segregate and redact the records in order to comply with the records request. Additionally, it appears from the District’s response that it plans to redact the responsive records under Exemptions (c) and (f) of the Public Records Law. Under the Public Records Law a fee may 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 pursuant to a petition under G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iv). See G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(ii); 950 C.M.R. 32.06(4). Consequently, the District must clarify if the fee assessed includes time necessary to redact records under Exemptions (c) and (f) of the Public Records Law. Further, the District must clarify whether $25.00 per hour is the hourly rate of the lowest paid employee who has the skill required to search for, compile, segregate, redact, or reproduce the requested records. For the reasons discussed above, I find the District must revise its fee estimate or provide further explanation of how the fee of $3,787.50 - $5,050.00 assessed in its March 7, 2025 estimate is consistent with G. L. c. 66, § 10(d). This office encourages Mr. Tobin and the District to communicate further in order to facilitate providing records more efficiently and affordably. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(b)(vii) (a municipality shall suggest a reasonable modification of the scope of the request or offer to assist the requestor to modify the scope of the request if doing so would enable the municipality to produce the records sought more efficiently and affordably). Any revision to the request would result in the requirement to issue a revised fee estimate.

Melanie Roucoulet SPR25/0750 Page 3 March 26, 2025 Conclusion Accordingly, the District is ordered to provide Mr. Tobin with a response to the request, provided in a manner consistent with this order, the Public Records Law, and its Regulations within ten 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. Mr. Tobin may appeal the substantive nature of the District’s response within ninety days. See 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Sincerely, Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records cc: Christian Tobin