Paul Chalifour v. Wilmington, Town of - Town Clerk (SPR 20253349)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records November 25, 2025 SPR25/3349 Elizabeth Lawrenson Town Clerk Town of Wilmington 121 Glen Road Wilmington, MA 01887 Dear Ms. Lawrenson: I have received the petition of Paul Chalifour appealing the response of the Town of Wilmington (Town) to a request for public records. See G. L. c. 66 § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). On November 4, 2025, Mr. Clalifour sought the following: [1] All documents and all electronic communications, bills, receipts, invoices, bank records, checks and statements and records for accounts payable and receivable involving transfers, deposits and withdrawals from the THSA Contingency Fund for Change Order #1 in the amount of $12, 942.00[;] [2] All documents and all electronic communications, bills, receipts, invoices, bank records, checks and statements and records for accounts payable and receivable involving transfers, deposits and withdrawals from the THSA Contingency Fund for Change Order #2 in the amount of $33,600.00[;] [3] All documents and all electronic communications, bills, receipts, invoices, bank records, checks and statements and records for accounts payable and receivable involving transfers, deposits and withdrawals from the THSA Contingency Fund for Change Order #3 in the amount of $298,323[;] [4] All documents and all electronic communications, bills, receipts, invoices, bank records, checks and statements and records for accounts payable and receivable involving transfers, deposits and withdrawals from the THSA Contingency Fund for Change Order 41 in the amount of $28,271.00[;] [5] All documents and all electronic communications, bills, receipts, invoices, bank records, checks and statements and records for accounts payable and 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

Elizabeth Lawrenson SPR25/3349 Page 2 November 25, 2025 receivable involving transfers, deposits and withdrawals from the THSA Contingency Fund for Change Order #5 in the amount of $284,168.00[;] [6] All documents and all electronic communications, bills, receipts, invoices, bank records, checks and statements and records for accounts payable and receivable involving transfers, deposits and withdrawals from the THSA Contingency Fund for Change Order #6 in the amount of $57,675[;] [7] All documents and all electronic communications, bills, receipts, invoices, bank records, checks and statements and records for accounts payable and receivable involving transfers, deposits and withdrawals from the THSA Contingency Fund for Change Order #7 in the amount of $75,759.00 [;] [8] All documents and all electronic communications, bills, receipts, invoices, bank records, checks and statements and records for accounts payable and receivable involving transfers, deposits and withdrawals from the THSA Contingency Fund for Change Order #8 in the amount of $36,805.00 [;] [9] All documents and all electronic communications, bills, receipts, invoices, bank records, checks and statements and records for accounts payable and receivable involving transfers, deposits and withdrawals from the THSA Contingency Fund for Change Order #9 in the amount of $57,465.00[;] [10] All documents and all electronic communications, bills, receipts, invoices, bank records, checks and statements and records for accounts payable and receivable involving transfers, deposits and withdrawals from the THSA Contingency Fund for Change Order #10 in the amount of $141,277.00[;] [11] All documents and all electronic communications, bills, receipts, invoices, bank records, checks and statements and records for accounts payable and receivable involving transfers, deposits and withdrawals from the THSA Contingency Fund for Change Order #11 in the amount of $250,000.00[;] [12] All documents and all electronic communications, bills, receipts, invoices, bank records, checks and statements and records for accounts payable and receivable involving transfers, deposits and withdrawals from the THSA Contingency Fund for Change Order #12 in the amount of $100,100.00[;] [13] All documents and all electronic communications, bills, receipts, invoices, bank records, checks and statements and records for accounts payable and receivable involving transfers, deposits and withdrawals from the THSA Contingency Fund for Change Order #13 in the amount of $100,000.00[.]

Elizabeth Lawrenson SPR25/3349 Page 3 November 25, 2025 The Town responded on November 12, 2025, providing a fee estimate. Unsatisfied with the response, Mr. Chalifour petitioned this office and this appeal, SPR25/3349, was opened as a result. Fee Estimates – Municipalities 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. 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 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 of 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 the 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 November 12th Fee Estimate In a November 12, 2025 fee estimate, the Town provided a fee estimate of $1,750.00 and stated the following: You submitted a Public Records Request on November 4, numbered 2025-285. We spoke on Friday, November 7, 2025, to provide additional information. There is a contingency account that the THSA building committee is response for. They vote to allow the OPM to use these funds when needed. I directed you to the minutes, and any minutes that were not yet posted, I submitted a request for the drafts from the Public Building director. I can give you the packet of bills submitted each month, but all is paid out of the Consigli account. This will be from January 2021 to the Present. This will take me approximately two weeks to research and scan every document. I have attached an invoice that would cover this request….

Elizabeth Lawrenson SPR25/3349 Page 4 November 25, 2025 Scanning bills submitted by Consigli 2 x $0.00 Scanning Bills submitted by Consigli 68 x $25.00 Total: $1750.00 Current Appeal In his appeal petition, Mr. Chalifour argues, “[b]ased on the Wilmington RAO’s invoice of $1750.00 the search will take seventy (70) hours. This 70-hour processing seem both unreasonable and unbelievable since the sought after records were supposed to be contained in the records of the minutes of the committee overseeing the municipal building in question. . . . The new invoiced request also extends the release of records by an additional ten business days…” Reasonableness of the fee estimate Although the Town states that it would take 70 hours to produce the responsive records, it is unclear why the Town requires this much time. The Town must advise how much time is needed to search and how much time is needed to segregate and/or redact the records, and must clarify how many pages of responsive records it possesses, as well as how many minutes per page the Town requires to segregate or redact the records. The Town’s fee estimate also lacks confirmation that the rate of $25 per hour is that of the lowest paid employee who is capable of performing the tasks. Accordingly, the Town must provide further details regarding its fee estimate. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iv) (requiring the amount of the fee be reasonable). Additionally, if redactions are required, the Town 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. 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). Consequently, the Town must also clarify whether its fee estimate includes time for segregation or redaction not required by law. For the reasons discussed above, I find the Town must revise its fee estimate or provide further explanation of how the fee estimate of $1,750.00 is consistent with G. L. c. 66, § 10(d). This office encourages Mr. Chalifour and the Town to communicate to facilitate providing records more efficiently and affordably. Mr. Chalifour may wish to narrow his request. The Town must use its superior knowledge of the records to suggest any potential reasonable modifications to the request. 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.

Elizabeth Lawrenson SPR25/3349 Page 5 November 25, 2025 Conclusion Accordingly, the Town is ordered to provide Mr. Chalifour 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. Chalifour 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: Paul Chalifour