Patrick Hannon v. Uxbridge, Town of - Board of Health (SPR 20170433)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records February 8, 2017 Courtney E. Mayo, Esq. Hassett & Donnelly, P.C. 446 Main Street, lih Floor Worcester, MA 01608 Dear Attorney Mayo: I have received the Town ofUxbridge's (Town) petition seeking an extension of time to furnish copies of a requested record, or any portion thereof. G. L. c. 66 § 10(c ); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.06(4). As required by law, the Town furnished a copy of this petition to the requester. G. L. c. 66, § lO(c). This petition relates to multiple requests Patrick Hannon made to the Town's Board of Health (Board). Petitions for an extension of time Under the Public Records Law, upon a showing of good cause, the Supervisor of Records (Supervisor) may grant a single extension to an agency not to exceed 20 business days and a single extension to a municipality not to exceed 30 business days. In determining whether there has been a showing of good cause, the Supervisor shall consider, but shall not be limited to considering: (i) the need to search for, collect, segregate or examine records; (ii) the scope of redaction required to prevent unlawful disclosure; (iii) the capacity or the normal business hours of operation of the agency or municipality to produce the request without the extension; (iv) efforts undertaken by the agency or municipality in fulfilling the current request and previous requests; (v) whether the request, either individually or as part of a series ofrequests from the same requestor, is frivolous or intended to harass or intimidate the agency or municipality; and (vi) the public interest served by expeditious disclosure. G. L. c. 66 § lO(c) If the Supervisor determines that the request is part of a series of contemporaneous 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

Courtney E. Mayo, Esq. Page 2 February 8, 2017 requests that are frivolous or designed to intimidate or harass, and the requests are not intended for the broad dissemination of information to the public about actual or alleged government activity, the Supervisor may grant a longer extension or relieve the agency or municipality of its obligation to provide copies of the records sought. Id. The filing of a petition does not affect the requirement that a Records Access Officer (RAO) shall provide an initial response to a requester within ten business days after receipt of a request for public records. 950 CMR 36.06(4)(b). Current petition In the Town's initial petition dated February 1, 2017, Michael Morrissette, Chairman of the Board, indicates that between March 16, 2016 and January 26, 2017 "Mr. Hannon submitted 11 information requests to the Town of Uxbridge. All of Mr. Hannon's information requests, with the possible exception of the request to the Water Department, are specific to town employees and offices that are investigating or are responsible for permitting" specific projects regarding soil. Mr. Hannon submitted seven (7) of these requests for records since January 10, 2017. I understand the Board previously provided several records in response to two (2) requests Mr. Hannon made in November 2016. The Board indicates its belief that these requests "are part of a series of contemporaneous requests that are designed to intimidate or harass town officials and employees and detract these individuals from their duties. Mr. Morrissette also explains "[w]e do not believe that these requests are intended for broad dissemination of the information to the public about actual or alleged government activity." The Board initially requested this office "relieve the Town of Uxbridge of its obligation to fulfill these information requests submitted by Patrick Hannon." In an email dated February 8, 2017, on which Mr. Hannon was copied, the Town provided additional information pertaining to this petition and indicates it is now requesting this office "grant them a twenty (20) day extension to produce the records requested ...." You indicate there are "350 email accounts" that may contain records responsive to Mr. Hannon's requests related to "complaints" or "illegal activities." You also estimate the number ofrecords responsive to other requests, including 200 pages of records responsive to a request for "notes" and 53 pages of records responsive to a request for "time cards" or "reimbursements." I understand the Town reached out to Mr. Hannon in an attempt to define certain terms used in his requests. Fees You also indicate the Town may intend to assess fees associated with the provision of records. Please be advised that municipalities may not assess a fee for the first (two) 2 hours of employee time to search for, compile, segregate, redact or reproduce the record or records requested unless the municipality has 20,000 people or less. G. L. c. 66, § 10(d )(iii). Where appropriate, municipalities may include as part of the fee an hourly rate equal to or less than the

Courtney E. Mayo, Esq. Page 3 February 8, 2017 hourly rate attributed to the lowest paid employee who has the necessary skill required to search for, compile, segregate, redact or reproduce a record requested, but the fee shall not be more than $25 per hour. Id. However, municipalities may charge more than $25 per hour if such rate is approved by the Supervisor of Records under a petition under G. L. c. 66, § 10(d )(iv). In addition, a fee shall not be assessed for time spent segregating or redacting records unless such segregation or redaction is required by law or approved by the Supervisor of Records under a petition under G. L. c. 66, § lO(d)(iv). See G. L. c. 66, § lO(d)(iii); 950 CMR 32.06(4). Please note that since this petition was only submitted for an extension of time to produce records, I will not opine on the Town's fee estimates at this time. See G. L. c. 66, § lO(c), (d)(iv); 950 CMR 36.06(4 ). Conclusion I find that in light of the series of requests from Mr. Hannon, the volume of responsive records, and the efforts undertaken by the Town in fulfilling the current request and previous requests, the Town has established good cause to permit an extension of time. I hereby grant the Town an extension of a total of twenty (20) business days from the date of this determination to furnish copies of records responsive to Mr. Harmon's requests identified in the Board's February 1st petition and February gth email, or any portion thereof. See 950 C.M.R. 32.06(4)(e). The records must be provided in a manner consistent with the Public Records Law and its Access Regulations. Mr. Hannon may appeal the substantive nature of the Town's response within ninety (90) days. See 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Mr. Hannon may seek judicial review of this decision by commencing a civil action in the superior court under G. L. c. 66 § 1O A( c ). Sincerely, ~ u r r ~ Supervisor of Records cc: Patrick Hannon