Victor Cimino v. Abington, Town of - Office of the Town Clerk (SPR 20253629)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records December 22, 2025 SPR25/3629 Scott Lambiase Town Manager Town of Abington 500 Gliniewicz Way Abington, MA 02351 Dear Mr. Lambiase: I have received the petition of Victor Cimino appealing the response of the Town of Abington (Town) to a request for public records. See G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). On November 21, 2025, Mr. Cimino requested the following: 1. Employment and Appointment Records (Current Staff) - The official appointment letter, employment contract, and job description for [a named individual] for the positions of Building Commissioner, Zoning Enforcement Officer, and Conservation Agent. - Any “Inter-municipal Agreement” or official delegation of authority documents granting the Building Commissioner the authority to act as the Conservation Agent. - Meeting minutes from the Board of Selectmen and/or Conservation Commission where the appointment of [a named individual] was discussed and voted upon. 2. Personnel Termination & Separation I request the following documents regarding the separation from employment for [3 named individuals]: - Letters of Resignation: Any official letters of resignation submitted by the individuals named above. - Termination Notices: Any official notices of termination or non-renewal of contracts. - Settlement/Severance Agreements: Any agreements, release of claims, or contracts regarding separation pay, severance, or “buy-outs” executed between the Town of Abington and the individuals named above. 3. [A specified address] Bedford Street Investigation - The complete property file (including building permits, code violations, 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

Scott Lambiase SPR25/3629 Page 2 December 22, 2025 enforcement orders, inspection reports, and internal correspondence) for the property located at . . . Bedford Street. - Any emails between the Town Manager, Board of Selectmen, and the Building Department regarding code enforcement, violations in relation to . . . Bedford Street. 4. Enforcement Actions Log - A copy of the electronic log or register of all Cease and Desist Orders, Enforcement Orders, and Stop Work Orders issued by the Building Department and/or the Conservation Commission from January 1, 2023, to the present. 5. Board of Selectmen / Real Estate Disclosures - All “Disclosures of Appearance of Conflict of Interest” (state ethics forms) filed by Selectman [a named individual] with the Town Clerk’s office from January 1, 2022, to the present. - Any meeting minutes where Selectman [a named individual] recused himself from discussions regarding zoning enforcement, building department personnel, or real estate matters. - Copies of all Applications for Abatement of Real Property Tax filed by [a named individual] or Old Town Real Estate, LLC for fiscal years 2021, 2022, and 2023, and the meeting minutes of the Board of Assessors where these applications were discussed. The Town responded on December 8, 2025, providing a fee estimate. Objecting to the fees, Mr. Cimino petitioned this office, and this appeal, SPR25/3629, 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. 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.

Scott Lambiase SPR25/3629 Page 3 December 22, 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). 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 December 8th Fee Estimate In its December 8, 2025 response, the Town gives a fee estimate of $250, and provides the following explanation: Due to the broad nature of the records requested, partly due to the fact that the request seeks documents and records related to several different facets of Town operations, additional time is required to produce the requested records. Additionally, as the Town is a municipality with a population less than twenty- thousand (20,000) people, a fee will be assessed for the costs associated with time spent searching for, compiling, segregating, reproducing and redacting the requested records as required by law. See G.L. c. 66 §10(d)(iii). Based on the Town’s good faith estimate, a $250 fee will be required which is based on an estimated time of ten (10) hours at twenty-five dollars ($25.00) an hour to complete your request(s). Please be advised that the actual cost and fee of producing the record(s) may vary upon preparation of such record(s). As such, please furnish the stated amount payable to the Town Clerk’s Office. Once said payment is received, the Town will complete your request and furnish all responsive records within twenty-five (25) business days. Please note portions of the responsive record(s) may be redacted pursuant to G.L. c. 4, § 7(26) and/or as required by law.

Scott Lambiase SPR25/3629 Page 4 December 22, 2025 Current Appeal In his appeal petition, Mr. Cimino contends that “because the Town’s response was legally received on Day 11, the Town has forfeited its right to assess any fees.” 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 Mr. Cimino submitted his request on November 21, 2025, and the Town responded on December 8, 2025, the tenth business day, by providing a fee estimate under G. L. c. 66, § 10(b), I find the Town may assess a fee to produce responsive records. Reasonableness of the Fee Estimate Where the Town provided a response within 10 business, it is necessary to review the reasonableness of the Town’s fee estimate. Although the Town states that it would take 10 hours to complete the request, it is unclear how many records there are, and why the Town requires this much time. The Town 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. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iv) (requiring the amount of the fee be reasonable). Additionally, in its response, the Town has not stated whether the hourly rate being used is equal to or less than that of the lowest paid employee with the necessary skills to perform the tasks. The Town must clarify this. Further, although the Town indicates in its fee estimate that that it may assess a fee for redaction, it is unclear whether the redactions for which the Town is charging are required by law. Please note that under 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, I find 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. 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).

Scott Lambiase SPR25/3629 Page 5 December 22, 2025 Conclusion Accordingly, the Town is ordered to provide Mr. Cimino 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. Cimino 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: Victor Cimino