Brian Petrini-Smith v. Framingham, Town of - Human Resources Department (SPR 20211562)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records June 30, 2021 SPR21/1562 Susan Embree Human Resources Department City of Framingham 150 Concord Street Framingham, MA 01702 Dear Ms. Embree: I have received the petition of Brian Petrini-Smith appealing the response of the City of Framingham (City) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). On June 9, 2021, Mr. Petrini-Smith requested “any emails sent between [two individuals] between [specified dates] where the title contains [specified] words . . . includ[ing] all attachments.” The City responded on June 23, 2021, providing responsive records. Unsatisfied with the City’s response, Mr. Petrini-Smith appealed, and this case was opened as a result. Current Appeal In his appeal petition, Mr. Petrini-Smith contends that the emails he received “showed the existence of [an] attachment but the attachment was not included.” Records in Existence The duty to comply with requests for records extends to those records that exist and are in the possession, custody, or control of the custodian of records at the time of the request. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(a)(ii). In an email to Mr. Petrini-Smith and this office on June 23, 2021, the City confirmed that “[a]ll attachments are included” with the records that were provided. In a phone call with this office on June 24, 2021, a representative for the City clarified that the same document was attached to two different responsive emails. As a result, two nearly identical versions of the same document appear in the records provided. The City confirmed that no attachments were withheld. 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

Susan Embree SPR21/1562 Page 2 June 30, 2021 Conclusion Where the City confirmed that it does not possess additional records responsive to Mr. Petrini-Smith’s request, I will now consider this administrative appeal closed. Sincerely, Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Brian Petrini-Smith