Tinker, William v. Hardwick, Town Of (SPR 20260603)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records February 26, 2026 SPR26/0603 Ryan J. Witkos, CMMC Town Clerk Town of Hardwick 307 Main Street, P.O. Box 575 Gilbertville, MA 01031 Dear Mr. Witkos: On February 20, 2026, this office received your petition on behalf of the Town of Hardwick (Town), seeking an extension of time to produce 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, it is my understanding that the Town furnished a copy of the petition to the requestor, William Tinker. G. L. c. 66, § 10(c); G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iv)(2). On February 5, 2026, Mr. Tinker requested the following: [1] Select Board Votes/Authorizations [a] Any Select Board votes, motions, resolutions, warrants, or other recorded actions authorizing the engagement or use of Town Counsel, including authorization to incur legal fees[;] [b] Any meeting minutes (open session or executive session, if applicable) reflecting such votes or authorizations[;] [2] Policies or Delegations of Authority [a] Any policies, bylaws, directives, or written delegations adopted by the Select Board authorizing the Town Administrator, Town Clerk, Chair, or any other individual to engage Town Counsel or incur legal expenses without a specific Select Board vote[;] [b] Any policies governing access to Town Counsel, including requirements for Select Board authorization[;] [3] Town Counsel Invoices and Monthly Detailed Billing [a] All Town Counsel invoices submitted during the requested period, on a monthly basis, including all attachments, detailed billing narratives, time entries, matter descriptions, and billing summaries[;] 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

Ryan J. Witkos SPR26/0603 Page 2 February 26, 2026 [b] Each invoice as maintained by the Town, including any identifiers indicating the board, department, office, or official for whom the legal services were provided[;] [4] Records Identifying Client/Board [a] Any existing records, including but not limited to invoices, billing summaries, or accounts payable records, that identify the board, department, office, or official associated with Town Counsel services[;] [b] This request seeks records as maintained and does not require the Town to create records or perform analysis[;] [5] Warrants and Payment Records [a] All warrants, warrant summaries, or payment approvals authorizing payment of Town Counsel invoices[;] [b] Records identifying the accounts or appropriations from which Town Counsel invoices were paid[;] [6] Annual Legal Expenditure Totals [a] Any existing records summarizing or reflecting the total amount paid to Town Counsel for each fiscal year and calendar year within the requested period[;] [7] Financial Authorization Records [a] Any records reflecting decisions regarding which accounts or appropriations were used to pay Town Counsel invoices, including approvals or directives related to account selection. Petitions for an Extension of Time Under the Public Records Law, upon a showing of good cause, the Supervisor of Records (Supervisor) may grant a single extension to an agency not to exceed 20 business days and a single extension to a municipality not to exceed 30 business days. In determining whether there has been a showing of good cause, the Supervisor shall consider, but shall not be limited to considering: (i) the need to search for, collect, segregate or examine records; (ii) the scope of redaction required to prevent unlawful disclosure; (iii) the capacity or the normal business hours of operation of the agency or municipality to produce the request without the extension; (iv) efforts undertaken by the agency or municipality in fulfilling the current request and previous requests; (v) whether the request, either individually or as part of a series of requests from the same requestor, is frivolous or intended to harass or intimidate the agency or municipality; and (vi) the public interest served by expeditious disclosure. G. L. c. 66, § 10(c). If the Supervisor determines that the request is part of a series of contemporaneous

Ryan J. Witkos SPR26/0603 Page 3 February 26, 2026 requests that are frivolous or designed to intimidate or harass, and the requests are not intended for the broad dissemination of information to the public about actual or alleged government activity, the Supervisor may grant a longer extension or relieve the agency or municipality of its obligation to provide copies of the records sought. Id. -- The filing of a petition does not affect the requirement that a Records Access Officer (RAO) shall provide an initial response to a requestor within ten business days after receipt of a request for public records. 950 C.M.R. 32.06(4)(b). Request for Additional Time to Produce Responsive Records In its petition, the Town requests an extension of 15 business days and provides the following information in support of its request: The Town…requests…an additional fifteen (15) business days to respond to this request in light of the Town’s limited public resources and staffing…The Accountant has stated that there are 104 invoices which coupled with other parts of this request, estimate anywhere from 10-17 hours of work…the Accountant is only in the office 19 (nineteen) hours per week and having to comply with this request will cause a burden upon the Accountant and the legally required work that they must do for the Town…in addition to the fact the Accountant is new to the Town and the time it will take to locate some fiscal years could quickly add up to 15 (fifteen) or 17 (seventeen) hours whereas we are providing a reduced estimate of 10 (ten) hours… I find that in light of the capacity of the Town to produce the request without the extension, the Town has established good cause to permit an extension of time. G. L. c. 66, § 10(c)(i)-(iv). The Town is granted an extension of 15 business days. 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 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

Ryan J. Witkos SPR26/0603 Page 4 February 26, 2026 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 has carefully reviewed this request, and based on the Town’s initial good faith work, the Town anticipates that there are records that must be located and copied individually for each bi-weekly warrant the Town has identified covering almost five years…Without an adjustment in the statutory rate, the Town, which has limited resources and staffing, will incur significant financial costs if it is required to pay the Accountant rate of $44.00/hour to respond to this request. As grounds for this Petition, therefore, the Town states that there is good cause for permitting the Town to charge the initial cost estimate because the Accountant is

Ryan J. Witkos SPR26/0603 Page 5 February 26, 2026 the lowest paid employee capable of (1) locating the responsive records and (2) the Accountant is only in the office 19 (nineteen) hours per week and having to comply with this request will cause a burden upon the Accountant… Therefore, the Town respectfully requests that the statutory cap on fees for search, compilation, redaction, and reproduction time be waived, and that the Town be authorized to assess fees for this work at the rate of $44.00/hour for the Accountant… I find the Town has met its burden to explain how, given the nature of the responsive records, the request could not prudently be completed without assessing a fee in the excess of $25.00 per hour. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iv). I find the Town may assess a fee limited to $44.00 per hour for accountant review. Conclusion Accordingly, I find the Town has established good cause for a time extension of 15 business days as described above. Additionally, as described above, the Town may assess a fee limited to $44.00 per hour for accountant review. This office encourages Mr. Tinker 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 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, Mr. Tinker 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: William Tinker