Alicia Williams v. Westwood, Town of - Clerk's Office (SPR 20253796)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records December 29, 2025 SPR25/3796 Molly Fitzpatrick Interim Town Administrator Town of Westwood 580 High Street Westwood, MA 02090 Dear Ms. Fitzpatrick: On December 23, 2025, this office received your petition on behalf of the Town of Westwood (Town) seeking a waiver of statutory limits on fees that may be assessed in responding to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § 10(c); G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iv); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.06(4). As required by law, I understand that the Town furnished a copy of this petition to the requestor, Alicia Williams. G. L. c. 66, § 10(c); G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iv)(2). On December 22, 2025, Ms. Williams requested “[a]ny and all emails and text messages regarding the process and rating system to select the FSI committee members. I am looking for all emails and documents and presentations that pertain to the criteria created and used to determine who was on the FSI committee.” In an email to this office on December 23, 2025, Ms. Williams objected to the Town’s petition. Petition to Assess Fees – Municipalities The Supervisor of Records (Supervisor) may approve a petition from a municipality to charge for time spent segregating or redacting or to charge in excess of $25 per hour, if the Supervisor determines that 1) the request is for a commercial purpose or 2) the fee represents an actual and good faith representation by the municipality to comply with the request. G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iv). In rendering such a decision, the Supervisor is required to consider the following: a) the public interest served by limiting the cost of public access to the records; b) the financial ability of the requestor to pay the additional or increased fees; and c) any other relevant extenuating circumstances. G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iv). 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

Molly Fitzpatrick SPR25/3796 Page 2 December 29, 2025 The statute sets out a two-prong test for determining whether the Supervisor may approve a municipality’s petition to allow the municipality to charge for time spent segregating or redacting records. The first prong is whether the request for records was made for a commercial purpose. G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iv). It is my determination that this request was not made for a commercial purpose. The second prong of the test is whether the fee represents an actual and good faith representation by the municipality to comply with the request. The Supervisor must consider 1) if the fee is necessary such that the request could not have been prudently completed without the redaction or segregation or fee in excess of $25 per hour; 2) the amount of the fee is reasonable; and 3) the fee is not designed to limit, deter or prevent access to requested public records. Id. Fee Estimates – Municipalities A municipality may assess a reasonable fee for the production of a public record except those records that are freely available for public inspection. G. L. c. 66, § 10(d). The fees must reflect the actual cost of complying with a particular request. Id. A maximum fee of five cents ($.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). Fee in Excess of $25.00 per Hour In its petition, the Town states the following concerning its request to charge a fee in excess of $25.00 per hour: The Town of Westwood is a municipality with fewer than 20,000 residents and is therefore permitted under the Public Records Law to charge for all employee time reasonably necessary to comply with a public records request. In this instance, however, the nature and content of the request require that the work be performed exclusively by the Interim Town Administrator, whose hourly rate exceeds the statutory cap.

Molly Fitzpatrick SPR25/3796 Page 3 December 29, 2025 Employee Required to Perform the Work Title: Interim Town Administrator Hourly Rate: $96.15 No lower-paid employee is qualified or authorized to perform the required tasks, which include: • Locating and compiling responsive records across multiple platforms (including email and text messages); • Reviewing records for applicable exemptions under the Public Records Law, including but not limited to exemptions related to privacy, deliberative process, and attorney-client privilege; • Exercising judgment to segregate and redact exempt or confidential information to ensure legal compliance and prevent inadvertent disclosure... The request expressly includes emails and text messages between the Town Administrator and members of the Select Board and may encompass additional communications containing confidential, privileged, or exempt information. Certain responsive materials are already publicly available or readily producible without charge... The remaining records sought, however, require individualized review and legal judgment prior to disclosure… The responsive records require a high level of legal and managerial judgment. The Town does not employ other staff members who are trained, authorized, or appropriately situated to conduct this level of review. Assigning this work to lower-paid staff would pose a substantial risk of inadvertent disclosure of exempt information and noncompliance with the Public Records Law. In light of the Town’s petition, I find the Town has partially met its burden to explain how, given the nature of certain responsive records, the request could not prudently be completed without assessing a fee in excess of $25.00 per hour. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iv). The Town may assess an hourly rate limited to $75.00 for segregation and redaction under the attorney-client privilege. However, the Town may not assess a fee in excess of $25.00 per hour for other tasks. G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iii). Conclusion Accordingly, as described above, the Town may assess a fee limited to $75.00 per hour for review of attorney-client privileged materials, but may not assess a fee in excess of $25.00 per hour for other tasks. This office encourages Ms. Williams and the Town to continue to communicate directly in order to facilitate providing records more efficiently and affordably. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(b)(vii) (a municipality shall suggest a reasonable modification to 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 records sought more efficiently and affordably). Any subsequent fee

Molly Fitzpatrick SPR25/3796 Page 4 December 29, 2025 estimate from the Town must be made in compliance with G. L. c. 66, § 10(b)(viii) and G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iii). Please note, Ms. Williams has the right to seek judicial review of this decision by commencing a civil action in the appropriate superior court. See G. L. c. 66, §§ 10(c), 10(d)(iv)(4), 10A(c). Sincerely, Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records cc: Alicia Williams