Blankenship, Shawn v. North Brookfield Police Department (SPR 20260850)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records March 23, 2026 SPR26/0850 Ryan P. Daley Chief of Police North Brookfield Police Department 55 School Street North Brookfield, MA 01535 Dear Chief Daley: I have received the petition of Shawn Blankenship appealing the response of the North Brookfield 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 February 16, 2026, Mr. Blankenship requested “all related materials for February 16, 2026 for the dollar general and for the incident of …Grove Street in reference to the neighbor calling.” Specifically, Mr. Blankenship sought, “[c]amera footage of Grove Street and Summer Street all angles from 8:30 a.m. to 9 a m. February 19 2026[.]” The Department responded on March 5, 2026, providing a fee estimate. Unsatisfied with the Department’s response, Mr. Blankenship petitioned this office and this appeal, SPR26/0850, 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 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 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 P. Daley SPR26/0850 Page 2 March 23, 2026 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). The Department’s March 5th Response In its March 5, 2026 response, a representative of the Department assessed a fee of $37.50 to produce the responsive records. The Department also noted, “…there will be a $5.30 cost for the electronic storage device.” In support of its fee estimate, the Department provided the following information: After review, I have determined that this request includes a substantial amount of video footage that must be reviewed to determine if it is subject to public records disclosure or may need to be redacted or segregated. The length of the videos requested is 1.5 hours which include the station video. I estimate it will take 1.5 hours to complete your request. The estimated fee for the 1.5 hours will be $37.50 ($25.00/Hr.). . . . You should be aware that compliance with such request, after the initial one-half hour, may include charges for the lowest-paid Town employee capable of searching for and compiling responsive records, and $0.05 per page for black and white copies and printouts. . . . In accordance with 950 CMR 32.07(2)(m), municipalities with a population of 20,000 and under may assess a fee, including the first two hours, for time spent searching for, compiling, segregating, redacting, and reproducing a requested record. . . . Current Appeal In his appeal petition, Mr. Blankenship seeks a fee waiver and states, “[p]lease [c]ompel [the Department] to provide my requested materials . . . .” 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.

Ryan P. Daley SPR26/0850 Page 3 March 23, 2026 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 states that it will take 1.5 hours to produce the responsive video record, it is unclear why the Department requires this amount of time. While the Department has confirmed it possesses 1.5 hours of responsive video, it must advise how much time is needed to segregate and/or redact under the law. Additionally, if redactions are required, I find the Department must provide information about whether the responsive records contain information that is required by law to be segregated or redacted, as well as 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). Consequently, the Department must also clarify whether its fee estimate includes time for segregation or redaction not required by law. The Department’s fee estimate also lacks confirmation of the Town’s population and how a fee may be assessed for the first two hours of employee time. The Department must also clarify whether the rate of $25 per hour is equal to or less than the rate of the lowest paid employee who is capable of performing the task(s). Accordingly, the Department must provide further details regarding its fee estimate. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iv) (requiring the amount of the fee be reasonable). For the reasons discussed above, I find the Department must revise its fee estimate or provide further explanation of how the fee estimate of $37.50 is consistent with G. L. c. 66, § 10(d). This office encourages Mr. Blankenship and the Department to communicate to facilitate providing records more efficiently and affordably. Mr. Blankenship may wish to narrow the request. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(b)(vii) (a 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 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. Blankenship 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

Ryan P. Daley SPR26/0850 Page 4 March 23, 2026 pre@sec.state.ma.us. Mr. Blankenship 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: Shawn Blankenship