John Hilliard v. Boston, City of - Office of the Mayor (SPR 20160423)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Shawn A. Williams Supervisor ofR ecords June 30, 2016 SPR16/423 Mr. George Bahnan Office of the Mayor Boston City Hall 1 City Hall Square Boston, MA 02201 Dear Mr. Bahnan: I have received the petition of John Hilliard appealing the nomesponse of the City of Boston (City) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66 § 1O (b ); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(2). Specifically, Mr. Hilliard requested records associated with the City's Diversity Task Force. Having received no response, Mr. Hilliard 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 ofthe request. G. L. c. 66, § lO(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. All records custodians must comply with both the Public Records Law and the Regulations with respect to the timeliness of response. Subsequent to the intervention by a member of my staff, this office was notified that a response will be provided by the City. 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. Hilliard may appeal the substantive nature of the City's response within ninety (90) days. See 950 C.M.R. 32.08(2). I y~ ours, cc: Mr. John Hilliard OneAshburton Place, Room 1719, Boston, Massachusetts 02108 · (617) 727-2832 ·Fax (617) 727-5914 www.sec.state.ma. us/ pre