Eileen W. Mooney v. Great Barrington, Town of - Housing Authority (SPR 20200834)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records May 29, 2020 SPR20/0834 Madonna Meagher Great Barrington Housing Authority 2 Bernard Gibbons Drive Great Barrington, MA 01230 Dear Ms. Meagher: I have received your petition on behalf of the Great Barrington Housing Authority (GBHA) seeking relief from its obligation to produce responsive records. G. L. c. 66, § 10(c). Eileen Mooney has made several requests to GBHA, including a request to inspect warrants. 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, § 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 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 SPR20/0834 Page 2 May 29, 2020 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). Also, as a reminder it is required by law, a custodian must furnish a copy of a petition to the requestor. G. L. c. 66, § 10(c). Current Petition In its May 18th petition, the GBHA requests the Supervisor “investigate my allegations of Ms. Mooney’s constant PRR requests.” GBHA states Ms. Mooney “has requested 14 public records (PRR) that I know of…” since April 2019.” GBHA explains “…I have had to make (4) Open Meeting Law complaints against Ms. Mooney through the Attorney General’s office for her deliberating through electronic mail in a public body with a quorum, and continued stalling the board to approve board minutes in a timely manner. I believe she could be retaliating against me. A burden has been placed on me to get work done that I was hired to do.” Regarding Ms. Mooney’s request to inspect warrants, GBHA explains “Ms. Mooney never wrote to me as the RAO for information, she simply did not like the response from the Executive Director for immediate access to warrants and back up documentation. The ED explained that all warrants and access would be available when the office opens in light of the COVID-19 crisis…[n]o documents are being withheld or hidden from Ms. Mooney.” Based on the information provided in the May 18th petition, I find that GBHA has not demonstrated the requests are frivolous and not intended for the broad dissemination of information to the public about actual or alleged government activity, as required by G. L. c. 66, § 10(c). Conclusion In light of the above, I cannot grant GBHA’s petition seeking relief from its obligation to produce responsive records at this time. Please note, this office may deny an appeal if, in the opinion of the Supervisor of Records, the request is designed or intended to harass, intimidate, or assist in the commission of a crime. See 950 C.M.R. 32.08(2)(b)(2). Sincerely, Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Eileen Mooney