Maria Berardi v. Melrose, City of (SPR 20212428)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records September 30, 2021 SPR21/2428 Kristin Foote City Clerk City of Melrose 562 Main Street Melrose, MA 02176 Dear Ms. Foote: I have received the petition of Maria Berardi appealing the non-response of the City of Melrose (City) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). On August 18, 2021, Ms. Berardi requested a copy of a June 16, 2021 inspection report conducted by [named City official] due to a rat infestation in Ms. Berardi’s neighborhood. Claiming to not yet have received a response Ms. Berardi petitioned this office, and this appeal, SPR21/2428 was opened as a result. Under the Public Records Law and the Access Regulations (Regulations) all requests for public records must be met with a response within 10 business days from receipt of the request. G. L. c. 66, § 10(a)-(b). The response may contain, among other things, an offer to provide records, a fee estimate for provision of the records, or a denial. G. L. c. 66, § 10(b). All records custodians must comply with both the Public Records Law and the Regulations with respect to the timeliness of response. Despite being notified of the opening of this appeal, it is unclear if a response has been provided. Accordingly, the City is ordered to provide Ms. Berardi with a response to the request, provided in a manner consistent with this order, the Public Records Law and its Regulations within 10 business days. A copy of the response must be provided to this office. It is preferable to send an electronic copy of this response to this office at pre@sec.state.ma.us. 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

Kristin Foote SPR21/2428 Page 2 September 30, 2021 Sincerely, Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Maria Berardi