Joseph F. Hennessey v. Worcester, City of - Law Department (SPR 20201222)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records July 27, 2020 SPR20/1222 Janice E. Thompson Assistant City Solicitor City of Worcester Law Department 455 Main Street, Rm. 301 Worcester, MA 01608 Dear Attorney Thompson: I have received your petition on behalf of the City of Worcester (City) seeking an extension of time to furnish copies of a requested record. G. L. c. 66, § 10(c). Specifically, on June 19, 2020, Attorney Joseph Hennessey requested five categories of records, including, information regarding 12 named officers, complaints alleging police misconduct, any sustained finding involving dishonesty, and all records reflecting race statistics. 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). 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

Janice E. Thompson, Esq. SPR20/1222 Page 2 July 27, 2020 The filing of a petition does not affect the requirement that a Records Access Officer (RAO) shall provide an initial response to a requester within ten business days after receipt of a request for public records. 950 C.M.R. 36.06(4)(b). Current petition In its petition dated July 20, 2020, the City requests “the Supervisor to grant the City of Worcester’s petition for additional time with respect to Atty. Hennessey’s request for public records.” In an email sent to this office on July 21, 2020, Attorney Hennessey states “Thank you for the update and the request for the extension. At this time I do not have an objection to the 15 day extension.” Conclusion In light of the requestor’s agreement, it is not necessary to opine on the City’s petition for an extension of time to furnish responsive records. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(b)(vi) (“the requestor may voluntarily agree to a response date beyond the timeframes set forth herein”). The requestor may appeal the substantive nature of the City’s response within ninety (90) days. See 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Sincerely, Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Joseph Hennessey, Esq.