James R. Channing v. Longmeadow, Town of - Town Clerk (SPR 20180612)

The Commonwealth.o f Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Szrpewisor of Records May 8,2018 SPR181612 Katherine T. Ingram Town Clerk Town of Longmeadow 20 Williams Street Longmeadow, MA 0 11 06 Dear Ms. Ingram: I have received your petition on behalf of the Town of Framingham (Town) seeking an extension of time to furnish copies of requested records. G. L. c. 66,s 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 requestor. G. L. c. 66, tj 10(c), (d)(iv). On April 27,2018 , Attorney James Channing requested six different categories of records to the Town pertaining to mainly traffic planning in the Town dating back to 2015. 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

Katherine T. Ingram Page 2 May 8,2018 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 requestor within ten business days after receipt of a request for public records. 950 C.M.R. 36.06(4)(b). In its May 2,201 8 petition, the Town is requesting "an additional period of 10 days to satisfy the request." The Town indicates they "have responded to the request and indicated a deadline of May 7th." The Town explains an extension is requested because "the Town Annual Town Meeting will be held on May 8th and there is information that Town Manager has and he is too busy finalizing materials for Town Meeting to gather the information requested." Further, the Town explains they "do not anticipate that this will take any longer [than] an additional period of 10 days to satisfy the request, however, the Town of Longmeadow wants to comply and would appreciate the extension be granted by your office." I find that in light of the scope of requests from Attorney Channing, the efforts and resources available to the Town fulfilling the current request, and the Town's indication of compliance, the Town has established good cause to permit an extension of time. G. L. c. 66 5 1O (c)(i)-(iv) . Conclusion For the reasons discussed above, the Town may produce the requested records on or before May 21,20 18. The records must be provided consistent with the Public Records Law and its Access Regulations. The requestor may appeal the substantive nature of the Town's response within ninety days. See 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Additionally, the requestor 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, Rebecca S. Murray L@ ' Supervisor of Records cc: James R. Channing, Esq.