Maurice Felder v. Springfield, City of - Office of the City Clerk (SPR 20191553)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records August 19, 2019 SPR19/1553 Andrea Stone Public Records Coordinator City of Springfield, City Clerk's Office 36 Court Street, Room 123 Springfield, MA O1 103 Dear Ms. Stone: I have received the petition of Maurice Felder appealing the response of the City of Springfield (City) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66,. § 1O A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Specifically, on April 7, 2019, Mr. Felder requested: I.Any and all financial incentives; Awards; Rents; Groceries; Utilities; Housing, and anything else paid by your office, or any other agency involved in support of [an identified person]; 2. Any and all records, information, or everything else, in which the D.A., or other city agency provided, and 3. Any videotape/recording of a confession/testimony from [a n identified person]. Prior Appeal The requested records were the subject of prior appeals. See SPR19/918 Determination of the Supervisor of Records (May 14, 2019) and SPR19/1301 Determination of the Supervisor of Records (July 12, 2019). In a telephone conversation with the City's Public Records Coordinator, Andrea L. Stone, a Public Records Division staff member inquired whether the City could conduct a search to see whether the Springfield Police Department (Department) has any files that may contain any of the requested information. I learned that Ms. Stone reached out to the Department to run a subsequent search, and that the City will provide a supplemental response regarding the additional search for records. Accordingly in my July 12th determination, I ordered the City to provide Mr. Felder with a response to the request, in a manner consistent with the order, the Public Records Law and its Regulations within 10 business days. In a letter dated July 25, 2019, the City provided Mr. Felder a response. Unsatisfied with this response, Mr. Felder · petitioned this office and as a result SPR19/1553 was opened. 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 SPR19/1553 Page 2 August 19, 2019 Current Appeal In its July 25th response, the City informed Mr. Felder that personnel in the Springfield Police Department "SPD" do not have any records that are responsive to request #2. The City states, "[p]lease be advised that the Hampden District Attorney's Office is a state agency and is not a part of the municipal government strncture of the City of Springfield, Massachusetts. Therefore, none of the Departments, including the SPD, of the City has access to any records that may be in the custody, possession, or control of the Hampden District Attorney's Office." In a letter to this office dated July 31st, Mr. Felder states, "Mr. Wilson has not meet my satisfactory to my request, so I'm notifying you immediately. Mr. Wilson said in request #2. SPD, or the City has access to any records that may be in the custody, possession, or control of the Hampden district attorney's office." Mr. Felder further states, "I am appealing to you to look further in the Hampden District Attorney's office and your victim's compensation division, to see that [a n identified individual] received any and all financial incentives awards, rents, groceries, utilities, housing, and anything else paid by Hampden district Attorney's office/victim's compensation unit." 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 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, § lO(a)(ii). Conclusion Whereas the City does not possess records responsive to Mr. Felder's request and has no duty to create records responsive to the request, I will now consider this administrative appeal closed. Sincerely, ~ Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Maurice Felder Andrea L. Stone