Jim Young v. Weymouth, Town of - Legal Department (SPR 20251497)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records June 6, 2025 SPR25/1497 Marsha Geronaitis Town of Weymouth 75 Middle Street Weymouth, MA 02189 Dear Ms. Geronaitis: I have received the petition of Jim Young, of Weymouth Firefighters Local 1616, appealing the response of the Town of Weymouth (Town) to a request for public records. See G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). On April 29, 2025, Mr. Young requested, “[a]ll invoices for all fire Town related [to] outside legal expenses for the past 10 years. Please include any agreements signed with outside legal counsel.” Prior Appeal This request was the subject of a prior appeal. See SPR25/1379 Determination of the Supervisor of Records (May 28, 2025). In my May 28th determination, I closed SPR25/1379 in light of the Town providing Mr. Young with a subsequent response on May 27, 2025, in which the Town stated a “cost estimate will be forwarded to you the next week.” Unsatisfied with the May 27th response, Mr. Young petitioned this office and this appeal, SPR25/1497, was opened as a result. Subsequently, the Town provided an additional response on May 29th which Mr. Young appealed. 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

Marsha Geronaitis SPR25/1497 Page 2 June 6, 2025 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 Town’s May 27th and May 29th Responses On May 27, 2025, the Town stated, “[a] document listing the amount paid to outside legal counsel . . . , for the past 10 years is appended hereto as requested. Please note, a cost estimate for the compilation and copying of the invoices for this time period will be forwarded to you next week and upon receipt of payment, those copies will be sent to you under separate cover.” On May 29, 2025, the Town assessed a fee of $750.00 to provide Mr. Young with responsive records. Specifically, the Town stated: After a full search, municipal finance identified records that may be responsive to your request and subject to disclosure under the Public Records Law…The Town’s good faith estimate of employee work time required to response to your request…is as follows: Search 25 Hours; Segregation 5 Hours. Accordingly, at a rate of $25 per hour, the total estimated fee for email delivery of responsive records is $750.00. G. L. c. 66, § 10(e) G. L. c. 66, § 10(e) provides that “[a] records access officer shall not charge a fee for a public record unless the records access officer responded to the requestor within 10 business days under subsection (b).” In this case, where Mr. Young submitted his public records request on April 29, 2025, and it appears the Town provided a fee estimate on May 29, 2025, I find it is unclear whether the Town complied with G. L. c. 66, § 10(e). Specifically, in order to assess fees, the Town must demonstrate whether it provided a response to Mr. Young’s request under G. L. c. 66, § 10(b) within 10 business days of receipt of the request. Conclusion Accordingly, the Town is ordered to provide Mr. Young 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. Mr. Young may appeal the substantive nature of the Town’s response within ninety (90) days. See 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1).

Marsha Geronaitis SPR25/1497 Page 3 June 6, 2025 Sincerely, Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records cc: Jim Young