Colman Herman v. Northwestern District Attorney's Office (SPR 20222735)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records December 2, 2022 SPR22/2735 Cynthia M. Von Flatern, Esq. Records Access Officer Assistant District Attorney Northwestern District Attorney’s Office One Gleason Plaza Northampton, MA 01060 Dear Attorney Von Flatern: I have received your petition on behalf of the Northwestern District Attorney’s Office (Office) seeking an extension of time to produce records. G. L. c. 66, § 10(c); G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iv). As required by law, the Office furnished a copy of this petition to the requestor. G. L. c. 66, § 10(c). On November 20, 2022, Colman Herman requested the following: 1) Records of all the expenses [a named individual] has incurred in his capacity as Northwestern district attorney for the period January 1, 2022 to the present. This includes, but is not limited to, the following. a) Expense reports, including back-up receipts b) Credit cards statements, including back-up receipts c) Automobile expense records, including back-up receipts d) Any and all other records that document [the] District Attorney[]’s expenses, including back-up receipts . . . 2) The written employee reimbursement policy of the Northwestern district attorney’s office[.] Petitions 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: 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

Cynthia M. Von Flatern, Esq. SPR22/2735 Page 2 December 2, 2022 (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). If the Supervisor determines that the request is part of a series of contemporaneous requests that are frivolous or designed to intimidate or harass, and the requests are not intended for the broad dissemination of information to the public about actual or alleged government activity, the Supervisor may grant a longer extension or relieve the agency or municipality of its obligation to provide copies of the records sought. Id. The filing of a petition does not affect the requirement that a Records Access Officer (RAO) shall provide an initial response to a requestor within ten business days after receipt of a request for public records. 950 C.M.R. 36.06(4)(b). Request for Additional Time to Produce Responsive Records In its November 29, 2022 petition, the Office requests an extension of 20 business days, and provides the following information in support of its request: Although the answer to ... Question #2 can and will be provided within ten business days, the response to ... Question #1 requires considerably more staff time. The response requires searching efforts from two to three members of the fiscal department of [the] office to make copies and redact original receipts for expenses in four separate categories going back two fiscal years. The requestor will not accept a spreadsheet of expenses. This request takes into account the vacation time that staff have taken and will take between the date of the request on the week of Thanksgiving, the due date of December 5, and the requested extension date of December 26, 2023. Based on the Office’s petition, I find that in light of the need to search for, collect, and examine the records, the capacity of the Office to produce the request without the extension, and the efforts undertaken by the Office in fulfilling the current request, the Office has established good cause to permit an extension of time. G. L. c. 66, § 10(c)(i)-(iv). The Office is granted an extension of 20 business days.

Cynthia M. Von Flatern, Esq. SPR22/2735 Page 3 December 2, 2022 Conclusion Accordingly, I find the Office has established good cause for a time extension of 20 business days as described above. This office encourages Mr. Herman and the Office to communicate directly in order to facilitate providing records more efficiently and affordably. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(b)(vii) (an agency 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 agency to produce records sought more efficiently and affordably). Please note, Mr. Herman 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(c), 10(d)(iv)(4), 10A(c). Sincerely, Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records cc: Colman Herman