Mary Dormer v. Carver, Town of - Town Clerk (SPR 20210747)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records March 31, 2021 SPR21/0747 Cara L. Dahill Town Clerk Town of Carver 108 Main Street Carver, MA 02330 Dear Ms. Dahill: I have received your petition on behalf of the Town of Carver (Town) seeking an extension of time to produce records. G. L. c. 66, § 10(c). As required by law, the Town furnished a copy of this petition to the requestor. Id. On March 10, 2021, Mary Dormer requested “[a]ll documentation regarding the Interim Town Administrator position from 2020. Please include all applications, resumes, job postings, all written communication, including letters, emails and the like between the select board members and the applicants. All recommendations from the Collins Center.” 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

Cara L. Dahill SPR21/0747 Page 2 March 30, 2021 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). Conclusion In a follow-up email sent to this office on March 29, 2021, the Town indicates “the petition for more time is not necessary” as a response has been provided to Ms. Dormer. Accordingly, I find it is unnecessary to opine on the Town's petition at this time. Sincerely, Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Mary Dormer