Mass. High costs can make open records seem closed

The Boston Globe reports:

Last month Barry Rafkind, the volunteer editor of a Somerville news blog, sent a detailed request to city officials for information about parking tickets and the city’s responses to citizen complaints.

Somerville officials said they would provide the information - but at a price. For the records Rafkind had in mind, the city wanted more than $200,000. Officials said that’s what it would cost to review the documents, delete personal information, and print them out.

“I guess they expect me to go away now,’’ said Rafkind, 28, of Somerville Voices. “Those are prohibitive costs that no one could afford to pay. They’re making no effort to respond to my request with good will.’’

Though Rafkind’s request was unusually broad - he asked for all of the city’s electronic data on parking tickets, appeals, and towing contracts, among other items - the response he received was hardly unique. Average citizens and professional reporters say public agencies have shown an increasing propensity to flout the state’s public records law by engaging in long delays or by charging exorbitant fees.

The tendency of government agencies to charge sky-high prices for public information came into play earlier this year when the Globe asked Boston officials for the e-mails of six city officials, and the city said it would cost $30,000. It wasn’t until the Globe narrowed its request that it learned that Michael Kineavy, a senior aide to Mayor Thomas M. Menino, had been routinely deleting his e-mail, in apparent violation of the state’s public records law. The missing e-mails have emerged as a pivotal issue in the mayoral campaign.

Great moments in monopoly.