Steve Sollog v. Truro, Town of (SPR 20233026)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records December 20, 2023 SPR23/3026 Noelle Scoullar Town of Truro 24 Town Hall Road P. O. Box 2012 Truro, MA 02666 Dear Ms. Scoullar: On December 15, 2023, this office received your petition on behalf of the Town of Truro (Town) seeking an extension of time to produce records. G. L. c. 66, § 10(c); G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iv); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.06(4). As required by law, it is my understanding that the Authority furnished a copy of the petition to the requestor, Steve Sollog. G. L. c. 66, § 10(c); G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iv)(2). On December 8, 2023, Mr. Sollog requested the following records: [1] Any communications during the stated period related to required or voluntary disclosures filed by [an identified individual] or requested by Town of Truro staff or officials[;] [2] Any communications during the stated period on which [an identified individual’s] name appears as a recipient, sender, or in the title or text of such communications with the State Ethics Commission; with the State Elections Division; the Massachusetts Office of Campaign and Political Finance; to or among Town officials or employees; to or among Town of Truro Board or Committee members, vendors and contractors; to and from any State elected official or staff member; to and from any taxpayer or resident (full or part-time); to or from any non-profit; to and from any newspaper or other media outlet[.] 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: 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

Noelle Scoullar SPR23/3026 Page 2 December 20, 2023 (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). Current Petition In its petition, the Town respectfully requests “an extension of 14 days to furnish the records requested by Mr. Sollog in the referenced public records request, submitted on 12/8/2023.” In support of its request, the Town provides the following information: [The Town] is endeavoring with limited resources to comply with numerous contemporaneous public records requests (including Mr. Sollog’s) and is simply unable to keep up despite the diligent efforts of staff. … [I]n the past 90 days, the Town of Truro has received 76 public records requests. This is an unprecedented volume and concentration for Truro (and likely any small town). The Town has fulfilled a number of these public records requests within the time periods required by law. However – and despite determined efforts – Town staff have been unable to keep up with the unprecedented pace of records requests while continuing to provide the services expected of Town Hall. … [I]n addition, Mr. Sollog’s request is extremely broad in scope, seeking, among other communications…[B]ased on the RAO’s experience responding to similarly broad requests, a search of the Town’s records (in particular, of emails) associated with this request will yield many thousands of documents…[The Town] must review for privilege all documents that would result from such a broad records

Noelle Scoullar SPR23/3026 Page 3 December 20, 2023 request. This review will entail many hours of staff time for review and segregation, and accordingly, substantial cost to the requestor. [The Town] believes that it is in all parties’ interest for the Town and Mr. Sollog to work together to narrow the scope of his request. In light of the need to collect, segregate and examine 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)-(iv). The Town is granted an extension of 14 business days. Conclusion As described above, I find that the Town has established good cause for a time extension of 14 business days. Please note, Mr. Sollog 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: Steve Sollog