Matt Deschenes v. Worcester, City of (SPR 20231395)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records July 5, 2023 SPR23/1395; SPR23/1396 Janice E. Thompson, Esq. Assistant City Solicitor City of Worcester Law Department 455 Main Street, Room 301 Worcester, MA 01608 Dear Attorney Thompson: I have received the petition of Matt Deschenes appealing the response of the City of Worcester (City) to requests for public records. See G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). On April 21, 2023, Mr. Deschenes requested “a record of all phone calls and text messages sent from the Worcester fire department to its members regarding overtime and/or manpower” for a specified date range. On the same day, Mr. Deschenes also requested “all emails from the administration with the words ‘covid’ covid19’ ‘covid-19’ ‘sick’ ‘sick time’ ‘sick leave’ ‘doctor’ ‘dr’ ‘doctor note’ ‘dr. note’ ‘note’” for a specified date range. After further correspondence, the City responded on May 5, 2023, and again on June 5, 2023 indicating it would require additional time “to complete the work necessary to fulfill this request.” Unsatisfied with the City’s response, Mr. Deschenes appealed, and this case was opened as a result. Based on an email from the City on June 30, 2023, I understand that the City intends to provide a supplemental response to Mr. Deschenes. Accordingly, said response must be provided in a manner consistent with the Public Records Law and its regulations within ten business days. It is preferable to send an electronic copy of the response to this office at pre@sec.state.ma.us. If issues remain unresolved, Mr. Deschenes may appeal the substantive nature of the City’s supplemental response within ninety days. See 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). 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

Janice E. Thompson, Esq. SPR23/1395; SPR23/1396 Page 2 July 5, 2023 Sincerely, Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records cc: Matt Deschenes Michael Vigneux