David L. Sterrett, Esq. v. Great Barrington, Town of - Office of the Town Clerk (SPR 20192247)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray S11pe111isor of Records November 6, 2019 SPR19/2247 Jennifer L. Messina Town of Great Barrington, Office of the Town Clerk 334 Main Street Great Barrington, MA 01230 · Dear Ms. Messina: I have received your petition on behalf of the Town of Great Barrington (Town) seeking an extension of time to produce records. G. L. c. 66, § lO(c); see also 950 C.M.R. 36.06(4)(b). As required by law, the Town furnished a copy of this petition to the requestoL G. L. c. 66, § lO(d)(iv). In a letter dated August 23, 2019 Mr. David Sterrett requested several categories records "for [d]ocuments [r]elated to 10-12 North Street and 24 N01ih Street [in] Great Barrington." Petitions for an extension of time Under the Public Records Law, a records access officer may petition the Supervisor of Records (Supervisor) for an extension of the time for the agency or municipality to furnish copies of the requested record, or any portion of the requested record, that the agency or municipality has within its possession, custody or control and intends to furnish within 20 business days after initial receipt of the request, or within 10 business days after receipt of a determination by the Supervisor that the requested record constitutes a public record. Upon a showing of good cause, the 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; 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

Jennifer L. Messina SPR19/2247 Page 2 November 6, 2019 (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, § lO(c). 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 its current petition dated November 5th, the Town states that more time is needed to "find all documents related to [this] fairly large request." Moreover, the town states that the "Selectboard & Town Manager's Office ... advised ... that their office is unable to fill this request by November 8, 2019." The town further articulates that the "employee in that office who is fulfilling this request took a sh01i leave due to a death in the family which has setback her work flow on this request." Conclusion The Town submitted their petition on November 5, 2019 more than twenty business days after receipt of the request. In light of the fact the Town has not demonstrated it submitted a timely petition, this Office does not have the authority to grant permission to charge for time spent segregating or redacting responsive records. 950 C.M.R. 32.06(4)(g). Sincerely, ~~ Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: David Sterrett