Scott Golding, Esq. v. Braintree, Town of - Town Solicitor (SPR 20171125)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records August 25,2017 SPR1711125 Lisa Skehill Maki, Esq. Town Solicitor Town of Braintree One JFK Memorial Drive Braintree, MA 02 108 Dear Attorney Maki: I have received your petition on behalf of the Town of Braintree (Town) seeking an extension of time to furnish copies of the requested public record, or any portion thereof. G. L. c. 66, 6 lO(c); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.06(4). Scott Golding, Esq. requested records relating to "the agreement entitled 'Agreement between the Town of Braintree and Michael and Matthew Fabiano Regarding the Use of 460 Rear Pond Street' dated September 29,2016." 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

Lisa Skehill Maki, Esq. Page 2 August 25,2017 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 Id. obligation to provide copies of the records sought. 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 "an extension of time (up to 30 days) to respond to the attached public records request." You indicate "the Town states it needs additional time because its Records Access OfficerITown Solicitor will be away on vacation from 8119117- 9-4-17 and will be unable to segregate and review items (b) and (c) of the requestor's request." You further explain "such items require an email search with parameters and review for privilegedlexempted information that must be conducted by the Town's attorney." The Town notes "documents responsive to items (a) and (d) were provided to the requestor" on August 18,2017. The Town concludes by stating "[pllease confirm that such an extension to respond to those items of the request- up to and including September 27,2017, is allowed." I understand the Town received Attorney Golding's request on August 16,2017. Conclusion The Town is advised that under the Public Records Law, a municipal records access officer must provide a written response to the requester within ten business days of receipt of the request. G. L. c. 66, 5 10(b). In this response the records access officer may identify a reasonable timeframe in which it shall produce the public records sought; provided, that for a municipality the timeframe shall not exceed 25 business days following the initial receipt of the request. G. L. 5 c. 66, 10(b)(vi). The requestor may voluntarily agree to a response date beyond these timeframes. See id. Based on the documents provided in the petition, it is unclear whether the Town can provide responsive records within twenty five business days of the receipt of the August 16, 201 7 request as allowed in G. L. c. 66, 5 lO(b)(vi), or if the requester agreed to a date beyond that timeframe. Also, the Town has not explained how many responsive records exist nor described the scope of any potential redaction. G. L. c. 66, 5 10(c)(i)-(ii). Further, the Town has not demonstrated that it complied with the requirement to furnish a copy of this petition to the requester. G. L. c. 66, 5 10(c). I understand a member of the Public Records Division contacted you but was unable to obtain a clarification regarding this matter.

Lisa Skehill Maki, Esq. Page 3 August 25,2017 Therefore, I decline to grant the Town's petition at this time. G. L. c. 66 5 10(c) (i)- (vi). The Town is advised it must seek another petition for extension if it cannot provide responsive records within twenty five business days of the receipt of the request or if Attorney Golding does not agree to an extension of time. See G. L. c. 66 9 10(c). The Town must re- submit such a petition within twenty business days after initial receipt of the request. Id. The Town must provide a response in a manner consistent with the Public Records Law and its Access Regulations. Attorney Golding may appeal the substantive nature of the Town's response within ninety days. See 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Sincerely, Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Scott Golding, Esq.