Collin Dias v. Fall River, City of - Police Department (SPR 20252986)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records October 24, 2025 SPR25/2986 Ashley Ferreira Records Clerk Fall River Police Department 685 Pleasant Street Fall River, MA 02721 Dear Ms. Ferreira: I have received the petition of Collin Dias appealing the response of the Fall River 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 August 5, 2025, Mr. Dias requested, “[a]ny Police Body Camera footage from [‘]Operation Clear Path[’] . . . [which] took place on or around August 4th or August 5th, 2025.” The Department responded on August 13, 2025, providing a fee estimate. Objecting to the fees, Mr. Dias petitioned this office and this appeal, SPR25/2986, was opened as a result. 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 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

Ashley Ferreira SPR25/2986 Page 2 October 24, 2025 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 August 13th Fee Estimate In its August 13, 2025 response, the Department assessed a fee of $4,228.08 to provide the responsive records. In support of its fee estimate, the Department advised, “[t]he redaction cost for the request pertaining to Operation Clear path would be $4,228.08. Please let us know if you would like to accept the charges and continue or if you would like to withdraw the request.” Current Appeal In his October 10, 2025 appeal petition, Mr. Dias states that his request, “relates to just one operation that took place on one day” and asks “that this office order the Police Department to seriously revise its fees. . . .” Reasonableness of the Fee Estimate Based on the Department’s response, it is unclear how much time the Department requires to provide the responsive records. Specifically, 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. It is also unclear how many records there are, or the number or minutes that the Department must spend on redactions for each record. The Department must provide further details regarding the tasks involved and what each task entails, including the time it is allocating to compiling, segregating, redacting and reproducing the requested records. 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). Where the Department indicates in its fee estimate that there is a “redaction cost[,]” please note that pursuant to the Public Records Law, a fee may 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)(ii); 950 C.M.R. 32.06(4). I am not aware that the Department has submitted a petition under G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iv). As such, the Department must provide information about whether the responsive records contain information that is required by law to be segregated or redacted, as well as the applicable statutes, if any. Further, 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). It is unclear whether the Department is assessing a fee for the first two hours of employee time in responding to the request. The Department’s fee estimate also lacks confirmation that the rate of $25 per hour is the lowest paid employee who is capable of performing the task(s) involved. The Department must clarify this.

Ashley Ferreira SPR25/2986 Page 3 October 24, 2025 For the reasons discussed above, I find the Department must revise its fee estimate or provide further explanation of how the fee estimate of $4,228.08 is consistent with G. L. c. 66, § 10(d). This office encourages Mr. Dias and the Department to communicate to facilitate providing records more efficiently and affordably. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(b)(vii) (a municipality shall suggest a reasonable modification of the scope of the request or offer to assist the requestor to modify the scope of the request if doing so would enable the municipality to produce the records sought more efficiently and affordably). Any revision to the request would result in the requirement to issue a revised fee estimate. Conclusion Accordingly, the Department is ordered to provide Mr. Dias 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. Dias may appeal the substantive nature of the Department’s response within ninety (90) days. See 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Sincerely, Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records cc: Collin Dias