Michael Walsh, Esq. v. Lynnfield, Town of - Town Clerk (SPR 20180715)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor ofR ecords May 23, 2018 SPRlS/715 Trudy Reid, CMMC Town Clerk 55 Summer Street Lynnfield, MA 01940 Dear Ms. Reid: I have received your petition on behalf of the Town of Lynnfield (Town) 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, the Town furnished a copy of this petition to the requestor. G. L. c. 66, § lO(c). Michael Walsh submitted two public records requests for "permits for Market Street or its tenants" and "Lt. Ripley's inspections." 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

Trudy Reid, CMMC SPR18/715 Page2 May 23, 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 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 requestor within ten business days after receipt of a request for public records. 950 C.M.R. 36.06(4)(b). Current petition In the Town's May 16, 2018 petition the Town requests "an additional 20 business days time to respond." The.Town indicates the additional time is necessary "[d]ue to the extent of his request, and the lack of personnel to work on this request." The Town explains "[t]he information he is requesting is from the Lynnfield Fire Department going back several years for various permits issued through the fire department as well as inspection logs, activity logs and/ or reports made by a particular lieutenant of the department." The Town indicates "there is no centralized filing system in place for these records, and they are a department with no clerical administration support." The Town further explains "[t]he request will need to be prepared by a Lieutenant and possibly one other department person during their normal work day while at the same time attending to their day to day responsibilities to the fire department." I find that in light of the scope ofrequests from Mr. Walsh, 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 of 10 business days beyond the 25 days after receipt of the request. G. L. c. 66, § 10(c ) (i)-(iv). Conclusion For the reasons discussed above, the Town may produce the requested records on or before June 26, 2018. 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, § lOA(c).

Trudy Reid, CMMC SPR18/715 Page 3 May 23, 2018 Sincerely, Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Michael Walsh