Burden, George and Jen v. Lunenburg, Town of (SPR 20260646)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records March 3, 2026 SPR26/0646 Jennifer Warren-Dyment Town Manager Town of Lunenburg 17 Main Street Lunenburg, MA 01462 Dear Ms. Warren-Dyment: On February 24, 2026, this office received your petition on behalf of the Town of Lunenburg (Town) seeking permission to waive statutory limits to fees. 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 Jennifer Burden and George Burden. G. L. c. 66, § 10(c); G. L.c. 66, § 10(d)(iv)(2). On February 11, 2026, Mr. and Ms. Burden requested, “[a]ll records relating to the creation and use of this email address. This includes, but is not limited to, any documents, communications, or materials sent to or from this email account.” 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 purpose. G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iv). It is my determination that this request was not made for a 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

Jennifer Warren-Dyment SPR26/0646 Page 2 March 3, 2026 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 In its petition, the Town is seeking to charge an hourly rate of $81.31 per hour for this request. The Town provides the following in support of its request to charge fees in excess of $25.00 per hour: To comply with the request, the Town must access the Group and download hundreds of emails; convert the emails to an accessible production format (PDF); review each record for segregation and redaction of exempt material; apply necessary redactions; and prepare the final documents. The estimated time required is five (5) hours by the Communications and IT Manager for download, extraction, and formatting, and five (5) hours by the Town Manager for legal review, segregation, and redaction. This review by the Town Manager requires the segregation of non-responsive or exempt material; determination of attorney- client privileged communications; privacy exemptions; and appropriateness of redactions. This review cannot be delegated.

Jennifer Warren-Dyment SPR26/0646 Page 3 March 3, 2026 The Communications and IT Manager’s hourly rate exceeds $25 per hour; however, the Town has capped that rate at $25 per hour. The Town Manager’s hourly rate is $81.31. The Town seeks permission to charge this actual hourly rate for the time required to review and redact responsive records. In light of the Town’s petition, I find the Town has partially 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 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, the Town may assess a fee limited to the hourly rate of $75.00 for segregation and redaction under the attorney-client privilege as described above. However, the Town may not assess a fee in excess of $25.00 for other tasks. Please note, Mr. and Ms. Burden have 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: Jennifer Burden George Burden