Eileen W. Mooney v. Great Barrington, Town of - Housing Authority (SPR 20192373)

~The Commonwealth. of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division

Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records

December 2, 2019 SPR19/2373

Madonna Meagher

Great Barrington Housing Authority 2 Bernard Gibbons Drive

Great Barrington, MA 01230

Dear Ms. Meagher:

‘ [have received your petition on behalf of the Great Barrington Housing Authority © (Authority) seeking an extension of time to furnish copies of a requested record, or any portion thereof. G. L. c. 66, § 10(c). As required by law, the Town furnished a copy of this petition to the requestor. Id. Specifically, Ms. Mooney requested, “[a] job description of the accountant’s position, job description’s monthly fee as of Jan 1, 2019, and the expired contract.”

Previous Appeals

This request was the subject of previous appeals. See SPR19/2025 Determination of the Supervisor of Records (October 18, 2019); SPR19/2134 Determination of the Supervisor of Records (November 1, 2019); SPR19/2274 Determination of the Supervisor of Records (November 25, 2019). I closed SPR19/2274 with the understanding that the Authority is searching their records for the signed contract. The Authority was ordered to provide Ms. Mooney with a response without delay. Subsequent to the opening of SPR19/2274, the Authority submitted a petition for an extension of time to respond to the request.

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;

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

Madonna Meagher SPR19/2373 Page 2 December 2, 2019

(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, § 10(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 the Authority’s petition dated November 20, 2019 the Authority requests “an extension in searching the files for the signed contract of Fenton, Ewald and Associates.” The Authority states “[w]ith the holidays approaching, I would like for the SEC to extend the response period until Jan. 6, 2020.”

The Authority explains they need “time for searching the dozens of banker boxes of records not all in one place here at the authority.”

The Authority further explains “[t]he only office employees are me and the Executive Director. The extra time this searching for Ms. Mooney's request is a hardship for me asI try to | do my job as assistant to the director and assist in the most important job of all, housing those in need and the added responsibility of accounts payable/accounts receivable.”

I find that in light of the need search for the records and capacity of the Authority in fulfilling the request, the Authority has established good cause to permit an extension of time until January 6, 2020. G. L. c. 66 § 10(c)(i)-(iv).

Conclusion

For the reasons discussed above, the Authority is granted an extension of time until January 6, 2020 to produce responsive records. The records must be provided consistent with the

Madonna Meagher - SPR19/2373 Page 3 : December 2, 2019

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, § 10A(c).

Dusen Kabecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records

ce: “Belmont Parents”