Cindy King v. Townsend, Town of (SPR 20252638)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records September 12, 2025 SPR25/2638 Harrison C. Mayotte Town Clerk Town of Townsend 272 Main Street Townsend, MA 01469 Dear Mr. Mayotte: I have received the petition of Cindy King appealing the response of the Town of Townsend (Town) to a request for public records. See G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). On May 30, 2025, Ms. King requested “… all emails sent and received to or from [an identified individual] including those deleted by [an identified individual], forwarded and all attachments from the period January 7, 2025 to February 28, 2025. Prior Appeals This request was the subject of prior appeals. See SPR25/1731 Determination of the Supervisor of Records (July 1, 2025) and SPR25/2403 Determination of the Supervisor of Records (August 27, 2025). In my August 27th determination, I found that the Town had not met its burden in responding to Ms. King’s request. The Town responded on September 3, 2025. Unsatisfied with the Town’s response, Ms. King petitioned this office and this appeal, SPR25/2638, was opened as a result. Subsequent to the opening of this appeal, the Town provided a further response on September 8, 2025. 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

Harrison C. Mayotte SPR25/2638 Page 2 September 12, 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 Town’s September 3rd and September 8th Responses In its September 3, 2025 response, the Town assessed a fee of $650.00 to provide Ms. King with 3,154 responsive email communications. In its September 8, 2025 response, the Town contended that it had provided a June 2, 2025 response which complied with G. L. c. 66, § 10(b) and “properly preserved” the Town’s right to assess a fee for the production of records. The Town further encouraged Ms. King to modify her request to facilitate providing records more efficiently and affordably. In its prior June 2, 2025 response, the Town acknowledged receipt of the request and informed Ms. King that it would provide a response within 10 business days. The Town further stated that its response “may include the records [Ms. King] requested, a timeline for production, a fee estimate (if applicable), or an explanation if any part of the request is withheld or exempt under the law.” 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 Ms. King submitted her public records request on May 30, 2025 and the Town provided a fee estimate on September 3, 2025, I find that the Town did not provide Ms. King with a response to her request within 10 business days of receipt of the request, as required to assess a fee under G. L. c. 66, § 10(e). Consequently, I find that the Town may not assess a fee to produce records responsive to the requests. Conclusion Accordingly, the Town is ordered to provide Ms. King 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

Harrison C. Mayotte SPR25/2638 Page 3 September 12, 2025 preferable to send an electronic copy of the response to this office at pre@sec.state.ma.us. Ms. King may appeal the substantive nature of the Town’s response within ninety days. See 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Sincerely, Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records cc: Cindy King