Cindy King v. Townsend, Town of (SPR 20253322)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records November 25, 2025 SPR25/3322 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 August 27, 2025, Ms. King requested “…a copy of the ‘payroll register’ for all Townsend employees in all categories … July 1, 2022 – June 30, 2023.” The Town initially responded on September 9, 2025 and provided a fee estimate on October 1, 2025. Previous Appeal This request was the subject of a previous appeal. See SPR25/2916 Determination of the Supervisor of Records (October 17, 2025). In my October 17th determination, I found 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). The Town responded on October 31, 2025. Unsatisfied with the Town’s response, Ms. King petitioned this office and this appeal, SPR25/3322, 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). 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. 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 SPR25/3322 Page 2 November 25, 2025 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 October 31st Response In its October 31, 2025 response, the Town stated: Specifically, the Supervisor maintains that the Town failed to respond to your request “within 10 business days under subsection (b)” … [T]he Town provided you with a “response” under G. L. c. 66, § 10(b)(vi) on September 9, 2025 – less than 10 business days after you submitted the underlying request... It seems to the Town that, if the legislature intended to require a records access office to request a fee within 10 business of receiving the request, it would have said so… [T]he Town respectfully request that the Supervisor explain how its September 9, 2025 response under G. L. c. 66, § 10(b)(vi) does not constitute a response “under subsection (b)” as set forth in subsection (e).

Harrison C. Mayotte SPR25/3322 Page 3 November 25, 2025 In the referenced September 9, 2025 response, the Town informed Ms. King that it would require an additional 15 business days to respond to the request, and estimated that it would provide responsive records or a fee estimate no later than October 2, 2025. Current Appeal In her appeal petition, Ms. King stated, “…any further argument that a fee can be charged should be denied due to the town failing to provide an itemized estimate IAW 950 CMR 32.07 (2)(b).” G. L. c. 66, § 10(e) Please be advised, 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 [G. L. c. 66, § 10(b)].” It is unclear if the Town’s response met all the requirements under G. L. c. 66, § 10(b) to assess a fee for the requested records. Pursuant to the law, the written response must be not later than 10 business days after the initial receipt of the request for public records, made via first class or electronic mail and must: (i) confirm receipt of the request; (ii) identify any public records or categories of public records sought that are not within the possession, custody, or control of the agency or municipality that the records access officer serves; (iii) identify the agency or municipality that may be in possession, custody or control of the public record sought, if known; (iv) identify any records, categories of records or portions of records that the agency or municipality intends to withhold, and provide the specific reasons for such withholding, including the specific exemption or exemptions upon which the withholding is based, provided that nothing in the written response shall limit an agency’s or municipality’s ability to redact or withhold information in accordance with state or federal law; (v) identify any public records, categories of records, or portions of records that the agency or municipality intends to produce, and provide a detailed statement describing why the magnitude or difficulty of the request unduly burdens the other responsibilities of the agency or municipality and therefore requires additional time to produce the public records sought; (vi) identify a reasonable timeframe in which the agency or municipality shall produce the public records sought; provided, that for an agency, the timeframe shall not exceed 15 business days following the initial receipt of the request for public records and for a municipality the timeframe shall not exceed 25 business days following the initial receipt of the request for public records; and provided further, that the requestor may voluntarily agree to a response date beyond the timeframes set forth herein;

Harrison C. Mayotte SPR25/3322 Page 4 November 25, 2025 (vii) 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 agency or municipality to produce records sought more efficiently and affordably; (viii) include an itemized, good faith estimate of any fees that may be charged to produce the records; and (ix) include a statement informing the requestor of the right of appeal to the supervisor of records under subsection (a) of section 10A and the right to seek judicial review of an unfavorable decision by commencing a civil action in the superior court under subsection (c) of section 10A. G. L. c. 66, § 10(b). The Town is advised, in order to assess a fee for the requested records, it must demonstrate it provided a response in compliance with G. L. c. 66, § 10(b). Specifically, the Town must clarify how its September 9th response comports with the requirements of G. L. c. 66, § 10(b). 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 (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. Ms. King 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: Cindy King Alexander M. Castro, Esq.