Sharkey, Kyle v. Canton, Town of - Police Department (SPR 20260548)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records March 2, 2026 SPR26/0548 Patricia A. Sherrill Deputy Chief of Administration Canton Police Department 1492 Washington Street Canton, MA 02021 Dear Deputy Chief Sherrill: I have received the petition of Kyle Sharkey appealing the response of the Canton Police Department (Department) to a request for public records. See G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). On January 23, 2026, Mr. Sharkey requested “all documents in the custody and control of the Canton PD in relation to [an identified individual] reporting of drug activity in his neighborhood ... [p]er [an identified individual’s] statements in [an identified] [C]anton select board meeting.” The Department responded on February 6, 2026, providing a fee estimate. Unsatisfied with the Department’s response, Mr. Sharkey petitioned this office and this appeal, SPR26/0548, 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 under a petition under 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

Patricia A. Sherrill SPR26/0548 Page 2 March 2, 2026 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 under a petition under G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iv). G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iii); 950 C.M.R. 32.06(4). The Department’s February 6th Response In its February 6, 2026 response, the Department provided a fee estimate of $1,450.00 to produce the responsive records. In support of its fee estimate, the Department provided the following information: Your request… is impermissibly vague as it does not identify what records or materials you are actually seeking… The [Department] has no way of determining or searching for what records a former employee may or may not reviewed in preparation for the above comment(s) made more than two (2) years ago. The portions of your request seeking such records, consequently, is impermissibly vague and cannot be ascertained with a reasonable amount of effort, and respectfully, does not constitute a valid records request under the law. As to the portion of your request that seeks for “all the documents in the custody and control of the Canton PD…” please be advised that a fee will be assessed for the costs for the time associated with searching for, compiling, segregating, reproducing and redacting the requested records as required by law. See G.L. c. 66 §10(d)(iii). The [Department] maintains over forty (40) Canton Police Department email accounts that [must] be searched and review[ed] in order to determine if there are any responsive records to your request. The [Department] estimates that, at a minimum, it will take an average of one (1) hour per account to review, assemble, and redact as required by law the forty (40) Department email accounts. The [Department] estimates that it will take, at a minimum, an additional twenty (20) hours to search for, review, assemble, and redact as required by law the potentially responsive physical records sought by your requests. As the [Department] is a municipality with a population in excess of twenty thousand (20,000) people, a fee will not be imposed for the first two (2) hours dedicated to your request. Based on the [Department]’s good faith estimate, one thousand four hundred fifty ($1,450.00) dollars will be required which is based on an estimated fifty-eight (58) total hours at a rate of $25.00 an hour to complete your request(s). Current Appeal In his appeal petition, Mr. Sharkey argues that his request is sufficiently specific and alternatively seeks a fee waiver. In addition, Mr. Sharkey stated, “I do not believe they have attempted to find or search for said documents[.]”

Patricia A. Sherrill SPR26/0548 Page 3 March 2, 2026 Fee Waivers G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(v) provides the following with respect to waiving a fee for the production of responsive records: the records access officer may waive or reduce the amount of any fee charged under this subsection upon a showing that disclosure of a requested record is in the public interest because it is likely to contribute significantly to public understanding of the operations or activities of the government and is not primarily in the commercial interest of the requestor, or upon a showing that the requestor lacks the financial ability to pay the full amount of the reasonable fee. Please be advised, although the Supervisor may encourage fees to be waived, the Supervisor may not mandate that a records access officer waive fees assessed for complying with a public records request; rather, as described above, the records access officer may waive or reduce the amount of any fee upon a showing of various factors. See G. L. c. 66, § 10 (d)(v); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.07(2)(k). Reasonableness of the Fee Estimate Although the Department indicates that it will take 60 hours to produce the responsive records, it is unclear why the Department requires this much time. While the Department estimates it will take an average of one hour per account to “review, assemble, and redact” the 40 Department email accounts and an additional 20 hours to “search for, review, assemble, and redact” the potentially responsive physical records, it is uncertain how many pages of responsive records exist and how many minutes per page the Department requires to segregate or redact the records. The Department must clarify this. Further, while the Department may charge for time spent searching, segregating, and redacting the records, the Department must clarify how it may assess a fee to “review” and “assemble” the records under G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iii). See G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iv) (requiring the amount of the fee be reasonable). Further, where the Department indicates that it intends to redact the responsive records, it must clarify how the redactions are required by law, and state 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). The Department must clarify these matters. For the reasons discussed above, I find the Department must revise its fee estimate or provide further explanation of how the fee estimate of $1,450.00 is consistent with G. L. c. 66, § 10(d). This office encourages Mr. Sharkey and the Department to communicate to facilitate providing records more efficiently and affordably. Mr. Sharkey may wish to clarify or narrow the request. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(b)(vii) (a municipality shall suggest a reasonable modification of

Patricia A. Sherrill SPR26/0548 Page 4 March 2, 2026 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. Conclusion Accordingly, the Department is ordered to provide Mr. Sharkey 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. Sharkey may appeal the substantive nature of the Department’s response within ninety (90) days. See 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Sincerely, Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records cc: Kyle Sharkey