Grace Ferguson v. Lawrence, City of - Office of the City Clerk (SPR 20230528)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records March 24, 2023 SPR23/0528 Eileen O’Connor Bernal City Clerk City of Lawrence 200 Common Street, Room 107 Lawrence, MA 01840 Dear Ms. O’Connor Bernal: I have received your petition on behalf of the City of Lawrence (City) seeking an extension of time to produce records. G. L. c. 66, § 10(c). As required by law, it is my understanding that the City furnished a copy of this petition to the requestor, Grace Ferguson. Id. On March 1, 2023, Ms. Ferguson requested the following: [A] copy of the following records for each of the last 10 years, broken down by tax type (residential, commercial, motor vehicle, etc): 1. Records showing the city’s tax rates 2. Records showing the total dollar amount of outstanding taxes 3. Records showing the tax delinquency rate 4. Records showing the number of tax accounts on payment plans 5. Records showing the tax payment plan default rate[.] Petition 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: (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 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

Eileen O’Connor Bernal SPR23/0528 Page 2 March 24, 2023 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) must 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). Current Petition In its March 20, 2023 petition, the City seeks an extension of time to produce records. In an email to this office on March 21, 2023, the City specifies that it “is seeking an additional 20 business days.” In support of its petition, the City states that “the electronic MUNIS system that the city uses does not go back 10 years. Much of the information has to be sought out manually. As this is going to take more than 10 days to produce this information, the Treasurer let the respondent know that this would take a couple of weeks … as the information requested goes back a full decade, much of which is not electronically accessible.” I find that in light of the need to search for and collect the records, the capacity of the City to produce the request without the extension, as well as efforts undertaken by the City in fulfilling the current request, the City has established good cause to permit an extension of time. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(c)(i)-(iv). I hereby grant the City an extension of 20 business days to furnish copies of records responsive to Ms. Ferguson’s request. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(c). Conclusion I find the City has established good cause to permit an extension of time of 20 business days as discussed above. Please note, Ms. Ferguson 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(d)(iv)(4), 10A(c).

Eileen O’Connor Bernal SPR23/0528 Page 3 March 24, 2023 Sincerely, Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records cc: Grace Ferguson