Russell Seelig v. Springfield, City of - Office of the City Clerk (SPR 20181389)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor ofR ecords September 26, 2018 SPRlS/1389 Andrea Stone Office of the City Clerk 36 Court Street Springfield MA, 01103 Dear Andrea Stone: I have received the petition of Russell Seelig appealing the response of the City of Springfield (City) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § 1 OA; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Specifically, on June 16, 2018, Mr. Seelig requested, "a viewing of the most recent Tyler Technology English Language Description of the processes and procedures that describe the mass appraisal software that is used to value single family residential properties in Springfield." Previous Appeal This request was the subject of a previous appeal. SPR18 /1232 Determination of the Supervisor of Records (August 27, 2018). I closed SPRl 8/1232 by ordering the City to review the records, redact where necessary, and provide Mr. Seelig with responsive records, provided in a manner consistent with the order, the Public Records Law and its Regulations within ten business days. Current Appeal In a letter to this office dated September 12, 2018, Mr. Seelig states, "[t]he City has now provided six files containing tables of numbers that relate to the valuation of residential parcels but-it has not provided any processes and procedures on how these files are used." Mr. Seelig further notes, "[t]here are probably manuals in both the City's possession and the Contractor's possession that describe the process and procedures." No Duty to Create Records Please be advised, under the Public Records Law the City is not required to create a record in response to a public records request. See G. L. c. 66, §6A(d ). The duty to comply with 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

Andrea Stone SPR18/1389 Page 2 September 26, 2018 requests for records extends to those records that exist and are in the possession, custody, or control of the custodian ofrecords at the time of the request. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(a )(ii). At this time it is unclear whether there are any records responsive to Mr. Seelig's request in the City's possession. It is my understand that you expressed to a member of the Public Records Division that you would search for any documents that may be responsive to Mr. Seelig' s request. Conclusion In light of the information provided, the City is ordered to provide Mr. Seelig with a supplemental response to the request, provided in a manner consistent with this order, the Public Records Law and its Regulations within ten business days. A copy of any such response must be provided to this office. It is preferable to send an electronic copy of this response to this office at pre@sec.state.ma.us. Mr. Seelig may appeal the substantive nature of the City's response within ninety days. See 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Sincerely, Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Russell Seelig