Julie Ann Ansula v. Essex Regional Retirement System (SPR 20170441)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor ofR ecords February 21, 2017 Charles E. Kostro Executive Director Essex Regional Retirement System 491 Maple Street Danvers, MA O1 923 Dear Mr. Kostro: I have received your petition on behalf of the Essex Regional Retirement System (ERRS) seeking an extension of time to furnish copies of a requested record, or any portion thereof. G. L. c. 66 § lO(c); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.06(4). As required by law, ERRS furnished a copy of this petition to the requester. G. L. c. 66, § lO(c). Specifically, on February 14, 2017 Julie Ann Ansula of Eurekahedge Private Limited requested ''a copy of the quarterly public records from January 1, 2000 through December 31, 2016 and/or the following information (preferably in Excel or PDF format) for each quarter beginning Ql 2000 to Q4 2016." Ms. Ansula also requested several categories ofrecords pertaining to "partnerships" with ERRS. 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 of requests from the same requestor, is frivolous or intended to harass or intimidate the agency or municipality; and 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

Charles Kostro Page 2 February 21, 2017 (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 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 I understand ERRS sent Ms. Ansula a response dated February 15, 2017 in which you direct her to a page on ERRS' s website and provide a fee estimate for the provision of other requested records. You also explain "[y]our request is quite voluminous and covers an extended period of time. Although you have the right to request any records you wish, if you were to narrow the scope of your request I believe the time necessary and the cost to respond would be significantly less. I strongly urge you to consider narrowing the scope of your request." In your petition to this office you explain "[t]he scope of this request is significant as it covers a seventeen year period from 2000 to 2016. Further, the volume ofrecords requested is enormous, and the time required to locate, retrieve, review, copy and respond will be extraordinary." You indicate that due to the "extreme burden that responding will place on our small office" and the fact that the request "appears to be solely for private, commercial gain, pursuant to 950 CMR 32.06(4)(:t), [ERRS] respectfully requests that the Supervisor of Records relieve us of our obligation to provide copies of the records sought." In the alternative, you "request authorization to charge more than the maximum of $25 per hour" to produce responsive records. See G.L. c. 66, § 10(d )(iv). Under the updated Public Records Law and Access Regulations, an agency or municipality must provide a written response to the requester within ten (10) business days. G.L. c. 66, § lO(b); 950 CMR 36.06(2)(a)-(b). This written response may "suggest a reasonable modification of the scope of the request or offer to assist the requestor to modify the scope of the request if doing so would enable the agency or municipality to produce records sought more efficiently and affordably." G.L. c. 66, § lO(b)(vii). ERRS's February 15th email offers to assist Ms. Ansula to modify the scope of the request in order to facilitate the provision ofresponsive records.

Charles Kostro Page 3 February 21, 2017 Conclusion Accordingly, I find that in light of your February 15th email to Ms. Ansula it is unnecessary to opine on ERRS's petition to relieve it of its obligation to fulfill the request or grant permission to charge more than $25 per hour at this time. See G.L. c. 66, § lO(b)(vii). ERRS and Ms. Ansula are encouraged to communicate in order to facilitate the resolution of this request. See G.L. c. 66, § 6A(b )(i) (records access officers shall assist requesters to identify the records sought); G.L. c. 66, § lO(a)(i) (the request must reasonably describe the public record sought). Ms. Ansula may appeal the substantive nature of ERRS's February 15th response within 90 days. See 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Sincerely, ~~ Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Julie Ann Ansula