McCue Potts, Christine v. Medfield Housing Authority (SPR 20260468)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records February 24, 2026 SPR26/0468 Candace Avery Executive Director Medfield Housing Authority 30 Pound Street Medfield, MA 02052 Dear Ms. Avery: I have received the petition of Christine McCue Potts appealing the response of Medfield Housing Authority (Authority) to a request for public records. See G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). On December 9, 2025, Ms. McCue-Potts requested the following records: [1] All invoices for legal services to or on behalf of the Medfield Housing Authority (“MHA”), including but not limited to invoices from [an identified individual] associated firm or any other attorney (such as [an identified individual]), for the period Sept. 1, 2023 through December 9, 2025 (12p.m.). [2] Any renewed contract, engagement letter, retainer agreement, and/or scope-of-services agreement between MHA and [an identified individual] and/or his legal firm issued anytime in 2025, and documentation of MHA Board of Commissioner and/or EOHLC or other state approval of such contract or other agreements, issued within the same timeframe. [3] If not already reflected in the invoices produced in response to item# 1, copies of all emails or written communications from MHA requesting or soliciting specific legal services, representation, or legal advice from any attorney or prospective attorney on each new matter for the period Sept. 1, 2023, through December 9, 2025 (11:42 a.m.). Requests concerning ongoing or previously opened matters need not be included. For clarity, this item includes but is not limited to initial inquiries or requests such as: • requests for legal representation on the Rosebay project; • requests for legal representation or general counsel services from [an identified individual in 2024; • requests for legal opinions or legal counsel regarding new issues, such as (by example only) -- validity of recording public meetings, removal of a commissioner, and/or issuance of a no-trespass order. 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

Candace Avery SPR26/0478 Page 2 February 24, 2026 [4] Documentation (of any date) reflecting the official appointment of [an identified individual] as Records Access Officer (RAO) for Medfield Housing Authority, as required by M.G.L. c. 66, § 6A. The Authority provided Ms. McCue-Potts with a response on December 23, 2025. Unsatisfied with the response, Ms. McCue-Potts petitioned this office and this appeal, SPR26/0468, was opened as a result. 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 (two) 2 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 Appeal In her appeal, Ms. McCue-Potts objects to the fee of $75.00 and states that, “[t]his request should take no longer than 30 minutes.” The Authority’s December 23rd Response In its December 23, 2025 response, the Authority provided a fee estimate of $75.00. In support of the fee, the Authority stated, The Medfield Housing Authority has estimated, in good faith, that the compiling and production of these records will take three (3) hours. At the statutory rate of $25.00 per hour, the total fee for the requested documents is $75.00. A copying fee for electronic copies or copies of public records transmitted via facsimile is not being assessed. . . . The documentation requested is exempt from disclosure under the public records law on the basis of attorney-client privilege.

Candace Avery SPR26/0478 Page 3 February 24, 2026 Although the Authority has estimated that the process of compiling, reviewing, and preparing responsive documents for production will take 3 hours, it is unclear how the Authority requires this amount of time to produce responsive records. The Authority must clarify how much time it is allocating to search for, segregate and/or redact the records. The Authority must further confirm that $25.00 is the hourly rate attributed to the lowest paid employee who has the necessary skill required to search for, compile, segregate, redact or reproduce the requested records. As such, the Authority must provide further details regarding its fee estimate. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iv) (requiring the amount of the fee be reasonable). The Authority must clarify these matters. For the reasons discussed above, I find the Authority must revise its fee estimate or provide further explanation of how the fee estimate of $75.00, is consistent with G. L. c. 66, § 10(d). I encourage Ms. McCue-Potts and the Authority to communicate in order to facilitate producing records efficiently and affordably. Ms. McCue-Potts may wish to narrow her request. G. L. c. 66, § l0(a)(i). The Authority must use its knowledge of the records to facilitate providing any responsive records. G. L. c. 66, § l0(a)(vii) (an agency or 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 agency or municipality to produce records sought more efficiently and affordably). Conclusion Accordingly, the Authority is ordered to provide Ms. McCue-Potts 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. Ms. McCue-Potts may appeal the substantive nature of the Authority’s response within ninety (90) days. See 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Sincerely, Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records cc: Christine McCue-Potts