Barbara Anzivino v. Stoughton, Town of - Town Manager (SPR 20171006)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records July 27, 2017 SPR17/1006 Brian Winner, Esq. Kopelman and Associates, LLC Town Counsel Town of Stoughton 101 Arch Street, 8th Floor Boston, MA 02110 Dear Attorney Winner: I have received your petition on behalf of the Town of Stoughton (Town) seeking an extension of time to furnish copies of the requested public 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 provided a copy ofthe petition to the requester. G. L. c. 66 § 10(c). In a request received by the Town on July 5, 2017, Barbara Anzivino requested certain text messages, emails, phone records and "other correspondence," many of which for a time period between June 15,2017 and June 29,2017. 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. 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

Brian Winner, Esq. SPR17/1006 Page 2 July 27, 2017 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 In your petition you explain the Town is seeking a time extension because "due to the nature ofthe request and the anticipated need [for] all responsive materials to be reviewed, the Town has been unable to provide the requested documents." The Town explains "Ms. Anzivino's request is one of nine (9) similar requests on the same subject filed between June 19, 2017 and July 20, 2017." Further, the Town indicates "these requests resulted in approximately 23GB and 63,336 emails which need to be reviewed." The Town is seeking an extension of thirty days. Conclusion I find that in light of 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. G. L. c. 66 § 10(c)(i), (iv). I hereby grant the Town an extension of five business days beyond the time allowed in G.L. c. 66, §10(b)(vi). See G. L. c. 66 § 1O (b )(vi) (a municipality may provide a time frame not to exceed 25 business days to produce responsive records). The Town is advised it must provide the records in a manner consistent with the Public Records Law and its Access Regulations. To the extent possible, the Town must provide responsive records on a rolling basis. Ms. Anzivino may seek judicial review of this decision by commencing a civil action in the superior court under G. L. c. 66 § 10A(c). Sincerely, ~ Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Barbara Anzivino