Mitchell Kosht v. Methuen, City of - Police Department (SPR 20211755)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records July 22, 2021 SPR21/1755 Kenneth J. Rossetti, Esq. City Solicitor City of Methuen 41 Pleasant Street Methuen, MA 01844 Dear Attorney Rossetti: I have received your petition on behalf of the Methuen Police Department (Department) seeking an extension of time to produce records. G. L. c. 66, § 10(c). As required by law, it is my understanding that the Department furnished a copy of this petition to the requestor, Attorney Mitchell Kosht. Id. In a letter dated June 28, 2021, Attorney Kosht requested various records, including internal investigation reports. Petition 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

Kenneth J. Rossetti, Esq. SPR21/1755 Page 2 July 22, 2021 Current Petition In its July 15th petition, the Department “…seeks an additional thirty (30) business days in which to furnish responsive documents.” The Department notes, ‘MPD’s IA records are exclusively in paper format in approximately 140 files. MPD anticipates expending an average of one hour in staff time per file for each of the 140 files, in order to review and pull documents responsive to the request and to redact personally identifying information and other material not subject to public disclosure.” Further, the Department states, “…given the substantial number of IA files covering over 11 years, and the restricted access to files given their sensitivity, substantial staff time is necessitated of a small cadre of staff, who likewise have other responsibilities concurrent with responding to the subject public records request.” Conclusion I find that in light of the above, the Department has established good cause to permit an extension of time. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(c)(i)-(iv). I hereby grant the Department an extension of 30 business days to furnish copies of records responsive to Attorney Kosht’s request. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(c). Please note, Attorney Kosht has the right to seek judicial review of this decision by commencing a civil action in the appropriate superior court. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iv)(4),10A(c). Sincerely, Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Mitchell Kosht, Esq.