C.J. Ferry v. Fall River, City of - Office of the Corporation Counsel (SPR 20160107)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Shawn A. Williams Supervisor ofR ecords March 8, 2016 SPR16/107 Ms. Cathy Ann Viveiros Fall River- City Administrator One Government Center Fall River, MA 02722 Dear Ms. Viveiros: I have received the petition of C.J. Ferry appealing the nonresponse of Fall River Corporation Counsel (City) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66 § 10(b); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(2). Specifically, Mr. Ferry requested a number of records pertaining to the "Employer Health Trust Account". Having received no response, Mr. Ferry petitioned this office. Under the Public Records Law and the Access Regulations (Regulations) all requests for public records must be met with a response within ten (10) days of the request. G. L. c. 66, § 10(b); 950 C.M.R. 32.05. The response may be an offer to provide records, a fee estimate for provision of the records, or a denial. City is advised that all records custodians must comply with both the Public Records Law and the Regulations with respect to the timeliness of response. Subsequent to the opening of this appeal, this office was notified that a response was provided twice to Mr. Ferry via email, the first was dated February 10,2016. Whereas this matter was opened based upon the City's failure to provide a written response, I will now consider this administrative appeal closed. Mr. Ferry may appeal the substantive nature of the City's response within ninety (90) days. See 950 C.M.R. 32.08(2). To assist in requesting and responding to requests for public records please refer to our publication, A Guide to the Massachusetts Public Records Law. This document Aisi iaovranielaybsl e on the- Internef, :77www:sec:state.mius7pre7prepdf/ gmde.pdf ~fre~e ofcnar~ge,~aflili:p ~()fi illy~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~ ~ ~~~~~~~~~~~ ~ m staff are available during regular business hours to answer general questions regarding the Public Records Law. OneAshburton Place, Room 1719, Boston, Massachusetts 02108 · (617) 727-2832 ·Fax (617) 727-5914 www.sec.state.ma. us/pre

Ms. Cathy Ann Viveiros SPR16/107 Page 2 March 8, 2016 In addition, members of my staff will visit a records custodian in person to conduct training workshops on the Public Records Law upon request. PI se contact my office directly at the telephone number provided in this determination for further ormation. cc: Mr. C.J. Ferry