Sarah L. Ryley v. Dracut, Town of - Police Department (SPR 20222296)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records October 19, 2022 SPR22/2296 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, Sarah Ryley, of the Boston Globe, requested five categories of “records pertaining to licensed firearms businesses (including individuals licensed as such).” Subsequent to the opening of this appeal, in an email to this office and the Department on October 12, 2022, Ms. Ryley narrowed the scope of her request. In light of the modified request, I find it unnecessary to opine on the Department’s fee and time petition. This office encourages Ms. Ryley 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). Sincerely, Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records cc: Sarah Ryley 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