Russell Seelig v. Springfield, City of (SPR 20170287)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor ofR ecords March 17, 2017 SPR17/287 Andrea Stone Paralegal City of Springfield - Law Department 36 Court Street, Room 210 Springfield, MA 01103 Dear Ms. Stone: I have received the petition of Russell Seelig appealing the response of the City of Springfield (City) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66 § lOA; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Mr. Seelig requested copies of property record cards for 35 specific parcels from 2007 through 2017. The City initially indicated the production of documents would begin on March 6, 2017 and that the Assessor's Office would provide documents by the close of business every Friday, until all of the records have been produced. Mr. Seeling appealed the City's response and requested the records be provided more expeditiously. The Public Records Law The Public Records Law strongly favors disclosure by creating a presumption that all governmental records are public records. G. L. c. 66, § lOA(d); 950 C.M.R. 32.03(4). "Public records" is broadly defined to include all documentary materials or data, regardless of physical form or characteristics, made or received by any officer or employee of any town of the Commonwealth, unless falling within a statutory exemption. G. L. c. 4, § 7(26). Conclusion Subsequent to the opening of this appeal, in an email dated March 7, 2017, the City informed Mr. Seelig it will provide all responsive records by April 7, 2017. In an email dated March 17, 2017, Mr. Seelig confirmed the date of April 7th for completion of production of the records is agreeable to him. Accordingly, I will consider this administrative appeal closed. See G. L. c. 66 § lO(b)(vi) ("the requestor may voluntarily agree to a response date beyond the timeframes set forth herein"). 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

Andrea Stone, Paralegal SPRl 7/287 Page 2 March 17, 2017 The City is advised it must provide the records in a manner consistent with the Public Records Law and its Access Regulations. Mr. Seelig may appeal the substantive nature of the City's response within ninety (90) days. See 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Sincerely, Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Russell Seelig