Jim Young v. Weymouth, Town of - Town Clerk (SPR 20251664)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records June 24, 2025 SPR25/1664 Marsha Geronaitis Paralegal 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 Appeals This request was the subject of prior appeals. See SPR25/1379 Determination of the Supervisor of Records (May 28, 2025) and SPR25/1497 Determination of the Supervisor of Records (June 6, 2025). In my June 6th determination, I found it was unclear whether the Town provided a timely fee petition to Mr. Young in accordance with G. L. c. 66, § 10(e). Subsequently, the Town provided an additional response on June 10, 2025, 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 SPR25/1664 Page 2 June 24, 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 June 10th Response In its June 10, 2025 response, the Town reiterated its intent to charge a fee of $750.00 to provide Mr. Young with responsive records. Specifically, the Town stated: The Municipal Finance Department estimated 30 manhours pulling the original invoices submitted for outside legal services for the last 10 years. The fee assessed, was within the standards of the statute. If you would like to modify your scope, it may reduce the cost to produce the requested documentation. We again, request that should you like to pick up the requested documentation, you kindly furnish the Town with a check in the amount of $750.00 or should you wish to reduce the cost, modify your request wherein we can respond within ten (10) days. Please be advised that should the Town not receive payment as indicated above or otherwise hear from you to modify your request within twenty (20) business days from the date of this letter, we will consider your request withdrawn and the matter closed. Current Appeal In his June 11, 2025 appeal to this office, Mr. Young stated, “I wish to appeal. As I understood the determination was made that they had to supply the information at no cost…They failed to provide the cost within 10 days of my original request. I also read in their response that they are billing for the time it took to research, not giving me an estimate before they did it.” 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).” Upon review, I find that Mr. Young submitted his request on April 29, 2025, and the Town responded on May 29, 2025, more than ten business days after the receipt of the request. The request was sent on April 29th and the 10 business days began accruing April 30th as day one, requiring the response for a fee estimate to be issued on May 13, 2025. Consequently, it is

Marsha Geronaitis SPR25/1664 Page 3 June 24, 2025 my determination that the Town has not met its burden to show that the Town complied with the provisions of G. L. c. 66, § 10(e). Therefore, the Town may not assess a fee for this public records 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). Sincerely, Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records cc: Jim Young