Massachusetts Free Press v. Boston, City of - Public Records (SPR 20231818)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records August 18, 2023 SPR23/1818 Shawn A. Williams, Esq. Director of Public Records Records Access Officer City of Boston 1 City Hall Square, Room 615 Boston, MA 02201 Dear Attorney Williams: I have received the petition of Massachusetts Free Press (requestor) appealing the nonresponse of the City of Boston (City) to a request for public records. See G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). On June 25, 2023, the requestor sought the following records pertaining to communications in City government: [1.] All records, including but not in any way limited to: [e]mails[, v]oicemails[, a]udio of [r]ecorded phone calls, and all metadata for the phone calls … [t]exts … [a]ny paper record, [m]eeting minutes, [a]nd all other records held by the city of Boston … [t]hat contain the key words: [14 identified individuals.] Claiming to not yet have received a response, the requestor petitioned this office and this appeal, SPR23/1818, was opened as a result. Subsequently, I learned that the City intends on providing a written response to the requestor. Accordingly, the City is ordered to provide the requestor with a response to the request, provided in a manner consistent with this order, the Public Records Law and its Regulations within ten (10) business days. A copy of any such response must be provided to this office. It is preferable to send an electronic copy of this response to this office at pre@sec.state.ma.us. The requestor may appeal the substantive nature of the City’s response within 90 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

Shawn A. Williams, Esq. SPR23/1818 Page 2 August 18, 2023 Sincerely, Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records cc: Massachusetts Free Press