Medha Swaminathan v. Brookline, Town of - Police Department (SPR 20231485)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records July 5, 2023 SPR23/1485 Neil Harrington Traffic/Records Division Supervisor Brookline Police Department 350 Washington Street Brookline, MA 02445 Dear Mr. Harrington: On June 27, 2023, this office received your petition on behalf of the Brookline Police Department (Department) seeking an extension of time to produce records. G. L. c. 66, § 10(c). As required by law, the Department furnished a copy of this petition to the requestor. Id. On June 21, 2023, Medha Swaminathan requested the following records: 1. Any and all documents relating to the Town of Brookline budget for emergency response services for fiscal years 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024, including but not limited to documents detailing: a. Revenues, source of funds and their descriptions; and b. Expenditures and their descriptions…[;] 2. All records or information that reflect the allocation of the Town of Brookline budget towards emergency medical response services, including 911 dispatchers, police, emergency service providers, medical providers, mental health providers, behavioral health providers, and ambulances[;] 3. Any and all invoices for reimbursement submitted to the Town of Brookline for expenses relating to all emergency service provision by Boston Medical Center/Boston Emergency Services Team (B.E.S.T.) and any other Emergency Service Provider (ESP) during the fiscal years 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024[;] 4. The current contract between the Town of Brookline and B.E.S.T. for the provision of crisis response to the Town of Brookline by B.E.S.T[;] 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

Neil Harrington SPR23/1485 Page 2 July 5, 2023 5. All records or information reflecting grant applications by the Town of Brookline to any entity for funding related to mental health or behavior health crisis response, including but not limited funding to police departments, emergency service providers, and/or other mental health clinicians, between June 8, 2020 and June 8, 2023. This includes grant applications to the federal government, as well as the Commonwealth, and includes but is not limited to the following grant programs: a. DPH Public Safety Reform Matching Grants b. Community Mental Health Block Grant c. Equitable Approaches to Public Safety d. Center for Behavioral Health Police Training in Crisis Intervention[.] 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 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).

Neil Harrington SPR23/1485 Page 3 July 5, 2023 Current Petition In its June 27, 2023 petition, the Department requests “a 10‐business day extension.” In support of its petition, the Department states: All materials being sought are maintained by the Public Safety Business Office Manager. As such this is the only member of staff that has the expertise to review the PRR, access the sought records, and accurately provide information including availability, and estimates on time and/or cost to produce. At this time the Department is attempting to close out/open the fiscal year, end/start date of June 30/July 1, which this staff member is conducting and overseeing. Any delays or errors in this work assignment would not only hinder the functions of the Department in FY24, but also the Town of Brookline as a whole, as well as potentially affect federal and state funding. This staff member will also be out of office and unavailable until July 8, 2023. Attempting to reply in accordance with Mass Records Law... would create an undue burden on divisions ability to function at this time. I find that in light of the need to collect and segregate the records, as well as the capacity of the Department to produce the records without an extension, the Department has established good cause to permit an extension of time. G. L. c. 66, § 10(c)(i)-(iii). The Department is granted an extension of 10 business days Conclusion As described above, I find that the Department has established good cause for a time extension of 10 business days. Please note, the requester 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: Medha Swaminathan