Mitchell I. Greenwald, Esq. v. Pittsfield, City of - Department of Public Utilities (SPR 20160541)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Shawn A. Williams Supervisor of& cords August 5, 2016 SPR16/541 Mr. Bruce Collingwood City of Pittsfield Department of Public Utilities 10 0 North Street Pittsfield, MA 01201 Dear Mr. Collingwood: I have received the petition of Mitchell I. Greenwald, Esq. appealing the nomesponse of the City of Pittsfield-Department of Public Utilities (Department) to his request for public records. G. L. c. 66 § 1O (b ); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(2). Specifically, Attorney Greenwald requested copies of records concerning a storm drainage pipe. Having received no response within the ten (1 0) day time frame, Attorney Greenwald petitioned this office. Failure to provide a response within ten (1 0) days In a telephone conversation on July 26, an attorney on my stafflearned that on July 21 the City provided Attorney Greenwald with records responsive to his request. You provided this office with a copy of your email cover letter regarding the transmission of the records to Attorney Greenwald. While records have now been provided, the City failed to provide a response to a request for public records within the statutory time frame. 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 ten-day provision is a maximum, rather than a minimum, time frame for complying with a public records request. The response may be an offer to provide records, a fee estimate for provision of the records, or a denial. The 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. 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 is available on the Internet, free of charge, at http://www.sec.state.ma.us/pre/prepdf/guide.pdf. Attorneys on my staff are available during regular business hours to answer general questions regarding the Public One Ashburton Place, Room 1719, Boston, Massachusetts 02108 · (617) 727-2832 ·Fax (617) 727-5914 www.sec.state.ma. us/pre

Mr. Bruce Collingwood SPR16/541 Page2 July 26, 2016 Records Law. In addition, members of my staff will visit a records custodian in person to conduct training workshops on the Public Records Law upon request. Please contact my office directly at the telephone number provided in this determination for further information. Accordingly, whereas this matter was opened based upon the City's failure to provide a written response, I will now consider this administrative appeal closed. Attorney Greenwald may appeal the substantive nature of the City's response within ninety (90) days. See 950 C.M.R. 32.08(2). Supervisor of Records cc: Mr. Mitchell I. Greenwald, Esq.