Neal McNamara v. Framingham, City of (SPR 20201869)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records October 7, 2020 SPR20/1869 Todd Palmer Super RAO Mayor's Office Department City of Framingham 150 Concord St. Framingham, MA 01702 Dear Mr. Palmer: I have received your petition on behalf of the City of Framingham (City) requesting an extension of time to produce records. G. L. c. 66, § 10(c). As required by law, the City furnished a copy of this petition to the requestor. Id. Specifically, Neal McNamara requested “[a]ny emails or text messages sent from city of Framingham email accounts or on city cell phones that reference [identified officers]…from May 1, 2020 to Sept. 1, 2020.” 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. 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

Todd Palmer SPR20/1869 Page 2 October 7, 2020 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). Subsequent to the opening of this petition, on October 5, 2020, Mr. McNamara emailed this office indicating he is “…fine with any extension Framingham needs.” Conclusion In light of the requestor’s agreement, it is uneccessary 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: Neal McNamara