Ronald P. Matta v. Brockton, City of - Law Department (SPR 20170148)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor ofR ecords February 10, 2017 SPR17/148 Philip C. Nessralla, Jr., Esq. City Solicitor City of Brockton 45 School Street Brockton, MA 02301 Dear Attorney Nessralla: I have received the petition of Ron Matta appealing the response of the City of Brockton (City) to his request for public records. G. L. c. 66 § lOA; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Specifically, Mr. Matta requested copies of "sent and received emails from the email account Mayorbillcarpenter@gmail.com." Previous appeals This request was the subject of previous appeals. See SPR16/252 Determination of the Supervisor of Records (June 23, 2016) and SPR16/711 Determination of the Supervisor of Records (September 19, 2016); SPR16/875 Determination of the Supervisor of Records (October 24, 2016); SPRl 6/1077 Determination of the Supervisor of Records (December 7, 2016). This office closed SPRl 6/1077 by ordering the City to provide Mr. Matta with a response to the request, prepared in a manner consistent with the order, the Public Records Law and its Regulations. Current appeal The City provided a response to the order in a letter dated December 23, 2016 in which it provides a fee estimate of $4,338.50 for the provision ofrecords. This fee estimate is based on time to review the records for exempt information. In the December 23rd letter as well as a November 10, 2016 letter, the City claims the records may contain "attorney-client privilege matters," "personnel matters," and "privacy concerns." Mr. Matta informed this office that he objects to this response and seeks further action with respect to this matter. This appeal (SPRl 7 /148) was opened as a result. In his appeal petition dated January 27, 2017 Mr. Matta indicates he would like this office to conduct an in 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

Phillip C. Nessralla, Jr., Esq. SPRl 7/148 Page 2 February 10, 2017 camera inspection of the responsive records to determine, in particular, whether the City's attorney-client privilege claims are valid. Subsequent to the intervention by an attorney on my staff, this office was informed Mr. Matta intends to provide supplemental correspondence pertaining to his ability to access the requested records. Accordingly, I will not opine on Mr. Matta's January 2ih petition. See G. L. c. 66 § lOA(a)(discussing the Supervisor of Records' ability to conduct an in camera inspection). Sincerely, Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Ron Matta