Stanley Mazurczyk v. Chelmsford, Town of - Town Clerk (SPR 20211244)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records May 26, 2021 SPR21/1244 Patricia R. Dzuris Town Clerk Public Records Compliance Officer Town of Chelmsford 50 Billerica Road Chelmsford, MA 01824 Dear Ms. Dzuris: I have received your petition on behalf of the Town of Chelmsford (Town) seeking relief from its obligation to produce responsive records requested by Stanley Mazurczyk. G. L. c. 66, § 10(c); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.06(4). As required by law, the Town furnished a copy of this petition to the requestor. G. L. c. 66, § 10(c). Petitions for relief from obligation to provide public records 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

Patricia R. Dzuris SPR21/1244 May 26, 2021 Page two 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 its petition dated May 18, 2021, the Town asserts, “ …pursuant to G.L. c. 66, § 10 and 950 CMR 32.00 et seq., [the Town] … petitions for relief from the numerous duplicative and harassing public records requests propounded by Mr. Stanley Mazurczyk (the ‘Requestor’). As grounds for this petition, the Town respectfully submits that there is good cause for relieving the Town of its obligation to provide copies of many of the records sought and/or for granting an extension of time and/or for waiving the statutory limits on fees that may be assessed on any duplicative records requests submitted by the Requestor, pending or in the future, because the Requestor’s duplicative requests are part of an ongoing harassment campaign against the Town and its public officials and are part of a series of contemporaneous requests that are frivolous or designed to intimidate or harass the Town and its public officials. 950 CMR 32.06(4)(f).” Based on the information provided in the May 18th petition, I find that the Town 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 the Town’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: Stanley Mazurczyk