David Cuetos Ruano v. Lincoln, Town of - Town Clerk (SPR 20230149)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records February 7, 2023 SPR23/0149 Valerie Fox Town Clerk Town of Lincoln 16 Lincoln Road Lincoln, MA 01773 Dear Ms. Fox: I have received the petition of David Cuetos Ruano appealing the response of the Town of Lincoln (Town) to a request for public records. See G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). On January 9, 2023, Mr. Ruano requested: [T]he most grandular breakdown available of the Pensions & Insurance expense line from the FY23 Proposed Budget in the Report of the Finance Committee, as well as the most granular breakdown available of the FY22 Pensions and Other Fringes expense line from the Statement of Revenues, Expenditures and Changes in Fund Balances from the Town’s Financial Statements (FY21 would suffice if you have not received the most recent audited financials yet). By most granular, I mean data down to the single employee level. There is no need to conduct any analysis or data formatting, a download from the accounting system is fine for my purposes. On January 20, 2023, the Town Administrator, Timothy S. Higgins, provided Mr. Ruano with a response to his request. Mr. Higgins informed Mr. Ruano, “[w]ith regard to your current records request, the Finance Director is unable to respond as readily as she has been responding to your earlier requests as we are in a particularly intense period in the Town’s financial planning and budgeting cycle. We will produce the records in a form that is responsive to your request as soon as time permits, and in accordance with the timeframe and other requirements of the Public Records Law.” Based on the Town’s January 20th response, Mr. Ruano petitioned this office and as a result, this appeal was opened. Mr. Ruano objected to the Town not providing the records within ten business days. 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

Valerie Fox SPR23/0149 Page 2 February 7, 2023 While this appeal was pending, I learned that on February 1, 2023, the Town provided Mr. Ruano with another response, including the public records Mr. Ruano requested. Conclusion Accordingly, where the Town provided Mr. Ruano with the requested records, I will now consider this administrative appeal closed. Mr. Ruano may appeal the substantive nature of the Town’s response within ninety days. See 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Sincerely, Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records cc: David Cuetos Ruano