Tom Robinson v. Hubbardston, Town of - Town Clerk (SPR 20170538)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor ofR ecords April 27, 2017 SPR17/538 Joyce E. Green Town Clerk Town of Hubbardston 7 Main Street Hubbardston, MA 01452 Dear Ms. Green: I have received your petition on behalf of the Town of Hubbardston (Town) seeking relief from its obligation to produce responsive records. 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). Tom Robinson submitted multiple public records requests to the Town since February 28, 2017. 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 (vi) the public interest served by expeditious disclosure. G. L. c. 66 § IO(c). 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

Joyce E. Green SPRl 7/538 Page 2 April 27, 2017 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) . Request for relieff rom obligation to produce responsive records In its April 20th petition the Town indicates its belief that Mr. Robinson's requests "either individually or as part of a series of requests" are "frivolous or intended to harass or intimidate the agency or municipality." The Town provided a spreadsheet of its public records requests and it appears Mr. Robinson has submitted ten requests since February 28, 2017. The most recent request, received on April 21, 2017, pertains to "CCTV" records of cameras pointed at a parking lot. Other requests pertain to records related to topics such as executive sessions, videotapes, timesheet information, legal invoices, and correspondence. Based on the information provided in the April 20th petition and the description of Mr. Robinson's requests included with the petition, I find the Town has not met its burden to establish that relief of its obligation to respond to Mr. Robinson's requests is appropriate at this time. See G. L. c. 66 § 10(c ). Conclusion Accordingly, I decline to grant the Town's request for relief of its obligation to provide public records responsive to Mr. Robinson's requests. However, if the Town requires additional time to produce the responsive records, it may submit a petition seeking an extension of time in accordance with G. L. c. 66 § lO(c). Sincerely, ~~ Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Tom Robinson