Cheryl A. Manahan v. Dracut, Town of - Police Department (SPR 20222286)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records October 18, 2022 SPR22/2286 David J. Chartrand Deputy Chief of Police Dracut Police Department 110 Loon Hill Road Dracut, MA 01826 Dear Deputy Chief Chartrand: I have received your petition on behalf of the Dracut Police Department (Department) seeking an extension of time to produce records, and permission to charge for time spent segregating or redacting responsive records. G. L. c. 66, § 10(c); G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iv). As required by law, the Department furnished a copy of this petition to the requestor. G. L. c. 66, § 10(c). On September 29, 2022, Attorney Cheryl A. Manahan requested “any and all submissions and reporting(s) of all Officers’ names reported by the Dracut Police Department to the Middlesex County District Attorney’s Office for inclusion on the ‘Brady’ list as noticed in the MDAO’s requested memorandum outlining compliance of Middlesex Police Officers and Union Representative dated 3/1/22.” Subsequent to the opening of this petition, I learned that Attorney Manahan submitted “an amended Public Records Request” by email on October 13, 2022, which she indicates “greatly reduces the scope of the materials requested.” In light of the modified request, I find it unnecessary to opine on the Department’s fee and time petition. This office encourages Attorney Manahan and the Department to continue to communicate directly in order to facilitate providing records more efficiently and affordably. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(b)(vii) (a municipality shall suggest a reasonable modification to the scope of the request or offer to assist the requestor to modify the scope of the request if doing so would enable the municipality to produce records sought more efficiently and affordably). Any subsequent fee estimate from the Department must be made in compliance with G. L. c. 66, § 10(b)(viii) and G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iii). 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

David J. Chartrand SPR22/2286 Page 2 October 18, 2022 Sincerely, Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records cc: Cheryl A. Manahan, Esq.