Stephanie Duclos v. Greenfield, City of - City Clerk (SPR 20231670)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records July 26, 2023 SPR23/1670 Quinn Jaquins Greenfield Assistant City Clerk 14 Court Square Greenfield, MA 01301 Dear Ms. Jaquins: On July 19, 2023, this office received your petition on behalf of the Town of Greenfield (Town) seeking an extension of time to produce records. G. L. c. 66, § 10(c). As required by law, the Town furnished a copy of this petition to the requestor. Id. On June 20, 2023, Stephanie Duclos requested “[an] itemized list of the attorney’s fees that the current financial order on the agenda is requesting an allocation of $70,000 in transfer from another account… [as well as] information regarding last year’s over budget of $26,000.” 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). 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

Quinn Jaquins SPR23/1670 Page 2 July 26, 2023 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 July 19th petition, the Town requests an extension of 4 business days and provides the following information in support of its request: Due to the nature of the information and the need for careful redaction to protect sensitive data, the task has proven more time-consuming than initially anticipated. We assure you that we are committed to providing the necessary documentation and are actively working to complete the redaction process as efficiently as possible. We believe that the extension until July 31, 2023, will allow us to fulfill this request in its entirety and deliver accurate and comprehensive information. I find that in light of the need to collect and segregate the records, as well as the capacity of the Town to produce the records without an extension, the Town has established good cause to permit an extension of time. G. L. c. 66, § 10(c)(i)-(iii). The Town is granted an extension of 4 business days. Conclusion As described above, I find that the Town has established good cause for a time extension of 4 business days. Please note, Ms. Duclos 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: Stephanie Duclos