Marcaccio, Michael v. Fall River, City of - Police Department (SPR 20260049)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records January 13, 2026 SPR26/0049 Amanda Matton Staff Services Fall River Police Department 685 Pleasant Street Fall River, MA 02721 Dear Ms. Matton: On January 6, 2026, this office received your petition on behalf of the Fall River Police Department (Department) seeking permission to charge for time spent segregating or redacting responsive records, and a waiver of statutory limits on fees that may be assessed in responding to the request. 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 Department furnished a copy of this petition to the requestor, Michael Marcaccio. G. L. c. 66, § 10(c); G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iv)(2). On December 9, 2025, Mr. Marcaccio requested the following: [B]ody cam footage from the officer that responded . . . We are investigating a bodily injury claim that has been presented by the owner of the driverless motor vehicle (2002 Chevy). The owner is [a named individual]. 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). The statute sets out a two-prong test for determining whether the Supervisor may approve 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

Amanda Matton SPR26/0049 Page 2 January 13, 2026 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). Current Petition to Assess Fees In its petition, the Department states the following in support of it request to assess fees: Under Exemption (a), the department will need to review and make redactions to records that, if disclosed, would violate other statutory provisions, including but not limited to personally identifiable information such as names, home addresses, telephone numbers, social security numbers, and driver’s license numbers. Exemption (c) pertains to “personnel and medical files or information, and any other materials or data relating to a specifically named individual,” the disclosure of which may constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy. Accordingly, these records contain personal identifiers, including names, dates of birth, and facial images, all of which must be redacted prior to release.

Amanda Matton SPR26/0049 Page 3 January 13, 2026 The total number of hours that we intend to charge is 4.5 hours (at a rate of $35.68. In accordance with Public Records Law, the requestor shall not be charged for the first two (2) hours of time spent on said request, which brings the hourly total to (2.5 hours). As a result, we are Petitioning the Supervisor to permit us to charge a fee of $89.20. Fee in Excess of $25.00 per Hour In its petition, the Department states the following concerning its request to charge a fee in excess of $25.00 per hour: We acknowledge that the Public Records Law provides that the fee must be calculated using the hourly rate equal to or less than the hourly rate of the lowest paid employee who has the necessary skill to complete the search and segregation and that the hourly rate cannot exceed $25.00 per hour unless approved by the Supervisor. Unfortunately, this is one instance where an upward deviation from maximum rate should be made. After reviewing the scope of the request, we estimate that the department is required to devote more than 2 hours of time to search for, compile, segregate, redact and/or reproduce the requested records; and the segregation or redaction of records is required by law or the fee has been approved by the Supervisor of Public Records. [T]he lowest paid employee who has the necessary skill to complete the segregation and redaction of Body Worn Camera (BWC) records, is Detective Will Pavao whose normal hourly rate is $35.68 hr. This is because he is the only records access officer, with access to the BWC software system, and the lowest paid employee certified to understand the public records law within that position. The process of redacting body worn camera footage is technically demanding and requires specialized training in the Axon redaction platform. Axon’s software involves advanced tools for motion tracking, audio filtering, and pixel-based masking, all of which must be applied manually to ensure compliance with privacy laws. The knowledge and experience of performing these redactions falls solely on Detective Pavao. Each video must be reviewed frame by frame to identify and obscure sensitive material, including victims, witnesses, juveniles, and protected information. Conclusion The Department submitted its petition on January 6, 2026, more than ten business days after receipt of the request. In light of the fact that the Department has not demonstrated it submitted a timely petition, permission to charge for time spent segregating or redacting responsive records, or to assess fees in excess of $25.00 per hour cannot be granted. 950 C.M.R. 32.06(4)(g). Please be advised, however, this does not preclude the Department from charging for

Amanda Matton SPR26/0049 Page 4 January 13, 2026 segregation and redaction that is required by law. This office encourages the Department and Mr. Marcaccio 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 estimate from the Department must be made in compliance with G. L. c. 66, § 10(b)(viii) and G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iii). Sincerely, Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records cc: Michael Marcaccio