Stanley Mazurczyk v. Chelmsford, Town of - Police Department (SPR 20251566)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records June 18, 2025 SPR25/1566 Samantha Murnane Records Clerk Chelmsford Police Department 2 Old North Road Chelmsford, MA 01824 Dear Ms. Murnane: I have received the petition of Stanley Mazurczyk appealing the response of the Chelmsford Police Department (Department) to a request for public records. See G. L. c. 66, §10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). On March 31, 2025, Mr. Mazurczyk requested, “... invoices and records which communications (paper and digital) the Department exchanged with the Massachusetts Police Accreditation Commission (MPAC) or other contributors that led to the Department’s January 8, 2024-re-accreditation.” Prior petition This request was the subject of a prior petition. See SPR25/1207 Determination of the Supervisor of Records (April 18, 2025). In my April 18th determination, I found the Department met its burden to explain, how given the nature of the responsive records, the request could not prudently be completed without segregation or redaction. The Department responded on May 30, 2025. Unsatisfied with the Department’s response, Mr. Mazurczyk petitioned this office and this appeal, SPR25/1566, was opened as a result. Subsequently, the Department provided a supplemental response on June 5, 2025 in response to Mr. Mazurczyk’s May 15th request. 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

Samantha Murnane SPR25/1566 Page 2 June 18, 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 Department’s May 30th Response In its May 30, 2025 response, the Department provided a fee estimate in the amount of $475.00 representing 12 hours and stated, “[a] search of all Department e-mails relative to the Department’s re-accreditation on January 8, 2024 revealed 339 e-mails. The Department broke down the fee estate as follows: Title Hours Per Hour Cost Total Staff in the Police 17 hours (to search for, Reduced to $25.00 $425 Department compile, segregate, redact, and per hour, as required. reproduce responsive electronic and hard copy records) Estimated at 3 minutes/e-mail Town Counsel 4 hours (to redact for attorney- client Privilege and any other per hour... Reduced to $25.00 $100 Public Records Law exemption references) Estimated at 25% of Police Department staff time; will be dependent upon volume of Public Record,; law exemption references TOTAL 12 hours $475 Reduced by 2 hours pursuant to Town’s population The Department further advised, Please note that the actual cost of producing the records may vary once the Town begins preparing the records for response. At this time, it is anticipated that the Town will be able to produce most of the records electronically. In the event that the best way to produce such a large quantity of records is to provide them on a USB drive, you will be charged for the cost of the USB drive.

Samantha Murnane SPR25/1566 Page 3 June 18, 2025 The Department cited Exemptions (a), (b), (c), (d), (e), (f), (j), (l), (o), and (p) of the Public Records Law and attorney-client privilege as basis for potential redactions in its fee estimate. Although the Department has estimated that the process of reviewing and preparing the requested records requires 12 hours of employee time, it is unclear how the Department requires this many hours to produce the responsive records. The Department must clarify its calculation of hours, 17 + 4 -2 = 19 hours. Also, it is not clear from the Department’s estimate how much time is allocated to search, and how much time is allocated for segregation and/or redaction of the records. Further, the Department must clarify why it needs 3 minutes to review each email. Accordingly, the Department must provide further details regarding its fee estimate. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iv) (requiring the amount of the fee be reasonable). For the reasons discussed above, I find the Department must revise its fee estimate or provide further explanation of how the fee assessed is consistent with G. L. c. 66, § 10(d). Subsequent request On May 15, 2025, Mr. Mazurczyk stated, “I request the Department provide number of emails each exemption claims.” In its June 5, 2025 response to Mr. Mazurczyk’s May 15th request, the Department stated, “... the [Department] is unable to provide you with the number of e-mails that may be applicable for each exemption listed above. To provide you with such a breakdown would require that the [Department] search, segregate, and substantively review the records; in essence, the [Department] would need to perform the work of producing the records before receiving payment.” Please be advised, G. L. c. 66, § 10(a) provides that: A records access officer appointed pursuant to section 6A, or a designee, shall at reasonable times and without unreasonable delay permit inspection or furnish a copy of any public record . . . or any segregable portion of a public record, not later than 10 business days following the receipt of the request, provided that . . . (i) the request reasonably describes the public record sought; (ii) the public record is within the possession, custody or control of the agency or municipality that the records access officer serves; and (iii) the records access officer receives payment of a reasonable fee as set forth in subsection (d) G. L. c. 66, § 10(a)(iii) (emphasis added).

Samantha Murnane SPR25/1566 Page 4 June 18, 2025 Conclusion Accordingly, the Department is ordered to provide Mr. Mazurczyk 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. Mazurczyk may appeal the substantive nature of the Department’s response within ninety days. See 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Sincerely, Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records cc: Stanley Mazurczyk