Ryan Kath v. Mansfield, Town of - Town Clerk (SPR 20252523)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records September 10, 2025 SPR25/2523 John J. Ellard, Jr. Treasurer/Collector Office of the Treasurer Town of Mansfield Town Hall 6 Park Row Mansfield, MA 02048 Dear Mr. Ellard: I have received the petition of Ryan Kath, of NBC Universal 10 Boston, appealing the response of the Town of Mansfield (Town) to a request for public records. See G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). On July 14, 2025, Mr. Kath requested “all payroll records for [a named individual] from January 1, 2025 thru present.” Previous Appeal This request was the subject of a previous appeal. See SPR25/2211 Determination of the Supervisor of Records (August 11, 2025). In my August 11th determination, I found that the Town must revise its fee estimate or provide further explanation of how the fees are consistent with G. L. c. 66, § 10(d). Subsequently, the Town responded on August 22, 2025. Unsatisfied with the Town’s response, Mr. Kath petitioned this office, and this appeal, SPR25/2523, was opened as a result. The Public Records Law The Public Records Law strongly favors disclosure by creating a presumption that all governmental records are public records. G. L. c. 66, § 10A(d); 950 C.M.R. 32.03(4). “Public records” is broadly defined to include all documentary materials or data, regardless of physical form or characteristics, made or received by any officer or employee of any agency or municipality of the Commonwealth, unless falling within a statutory exemption. G. L. c. 4, § 7(26). 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

John J. Ellard, Jr. SPR25/2523 Page 2 September 10, 2025 It is the burden of the records custodian to demonstrate the application of an exemption in order to withhold a requested record. G. L. c. 66, § 10(b)(iv); 950 C.M.R. 32.06(3); see also Dist. Attorney for the Norfolk Dist. v. Flatley, 419 Mass. 507, 511 (1995) (custodian has the burden of establishing the applicability of an exemption). To meet the specificity requirement a custodian must not only cite an exemption, but must also state why the exemption applies to the withheld or redacted portion of the responsive record. If there are any fees associated with a response, a written good faith estimate must be provided. G. L. c. 66, § 10(b)(viii); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.07(2). Once fees are paid, a records custodian must provide the responsive records. 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 2 (two) 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 Town’s August 22nd Response In its August 22, 2025 response, the Town gives a fee estimate totaling $75, and provides the following information in support of its fee estimate: As the Town previously clarified, the fee requested in response to your request is seventy-five ($75.00) dollars. The value of this fee is based upon the Town’s good faith estimate of five (5) hours to search for, compile, redact and produce the requested records, inclusive of the time already dedicated to your request. As the Town is a municipality with a population in excess of twenty thousand (20,000) people, a fee was not imposed for the first two (2) hours dedicated to your request, hence the seventy-five ($75.00) dollar figure.

John J. Ellard, Jr. SPR25/2523 Page 3 September 10, 2025 The five (5) hours estimated by the Town is based upon the time already spent reviewing and assembling potentially responsive materials. There are over twenty (20) pages of individual records that contain sensitive, non-public information such as the residential address of an employee and employee banking information, the disclosure of which is prohibited by G. L. c. 4, § 7 (26)(o) and G. L. c. 4, § 7 (26)(c). For a more detailed breakdown, the Town estimates three (3) hours are required for the review and assembly of responsive materials (inclusive of time already dedicated to your response) and anticipates two (2) hours for review and redaction of those materials by legal counsel so also to comply with all applicable laws. The twenty-five dollar ($25.00) per hour rate is warranted and in compliance with G. L. c. 66, § 10(d), as the review and redaction of records must be performed by the Town’s legal counsel, and the records have been assembled and organized by the Town’s Treasurer/collector, who are lowest paid employee(s) and personnel with the necessary skills to perform the tasks, both of whom are paid at hourly rate in excess of twenty-five dollars per hour. Accordingly, the Town maintains its initial fee request of seventy -five ($75.00) dollars. As noted above, 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). Please note that information that is “required by law” to be segregated or redacted is found in statutes that explicitly indicate that certain records or information are not public records. These statutes operate through Exemption (a) of the Public Records Law. Segregation or redaction under the attorney-client privilege is also “required by law.” Accordingly, the Town is not permitted to assess a fee for segregation and redaction under Exemptions (c) and (o) of the Public Records Law. Please note, however, this does not preclude the Town from charging for segregation and redaction that is required by law under Exemption (a). Further, based on the information provided in the Town’s fee estimate, it is unclear why the Town requires three hours to review and assemble the responsive records, consisting of “over twenty (20) pages.” The Town must provide further details regarding the contents of the records and why it would take approximately 9 minutes to review and assemble each page. For the reasons discussed above, I find the Town must revise its fee estimate or provide further explanation of how the fees assessed are consistent with G. L. c. 66, § 10(d). Conclusion Accordingly, the Town is ordered to provide Mr. Kath 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.

John J. Ellard, Jr. SPR25/2523 Page 4 September 10, 2025 Kath may further 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: Ryan Kath