Michelle Efendi v. Boston, City of - Public Records (SPR 20240418)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records February 23, 2024 SPR24/0416; SPR24/0418; SPR24/0421 Shawn A. Williams, Esq. Records Access Officer City of Boston 1 City Hall Square, Room 615 Boston, MA 02201 Dear Attorney Williams: I have received the petitions of Michelle Efendi appealing the responses of the City of Boston (City) to requests for public records. See G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). On January 8, 2024, Ms. Efendi submitted three separate requests seeking “all records concerning [a total of four named individuals] and the protests at [the] Mayor[’s] house between January 25, 2022 and February 8, 2022.” The City responded to all three requests on January 24, 2024, indicating it would require additional time to process the requests. Having received no further responses, Ms. Efendi appealed, and these cases were opened as a result. The Public Records Law The Public Records Law strongly favors disclosure by creating a presumption that all governmental records are public records. G. L. c. 66, § 10A(d); 950 C.M.R. 32.03(4). “Public records” is broadly defined to include all documentary materials or data, regardless of physical form or characteristics, made or received by any officer or employee of any agency or municipality of the Commonwealth, unless falling within a statutory exemption. G. L. c. 4, § 7(26). It is the burden of the records custodian to demonstrate the application of an exemption in order to withhold a requested record. G. L. c. 66, § 10(b)(iv); 950 C.M.R. 32.06(3); see also Dist. Attorney for the Norfolk Dist. v. Flatley, 419 Mass. 507, 511 (1995) (custodian has the burden of establishing the applicability of an exemption). To meet the specificity requirement a custodian must not only cite an exemption, but must also state why the exemption applies to the withheld or redacted portion of the responsive record. If there are any fees associated with a response, a written good faith estimate must be provided. G. L. c. 66, § 10(b)(viii); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.07(2). Once fees are paid, a records 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. SPR24/0416; SPR24/0418; SPR24/0421 Page 2 February 23, 2024 custodian must provide the responsive records. The City’s January 24th Responses In three separate responses on January 24, 2024, the City states that “due to the nature of [Ms. Efendi’s] request additional time is needed. As such, the City will need up to, but no more than, fifteen (15) additional business days to review and process [her] request.” The City is advised that G. L. c. 66, § 10(b) provides, in pertinent part, that if the magnitude or difficulty of a request unduly burdens the other responsibilities of the agency or municipality such that the agency or municipality cannot provide records within 10 business days, the agency or municipality must inform the requestor in writing within 10 business days. With respect to the timeframe to produce responsive records, the written response shall: identify a reasonable timeframe in which the agency or municipality shall produce the public records sought; provided, that ... for a municipality the timeframe shall not exceed 25 business days following the initial receipt of the request for public records; and provided further, that the requestor may voluntarily agree to a response date beyond the timeframes set forth herein. G. L. c. 66, § 10(b)(vi). Where Ms. Efendi submitted her requests January 8, 2024, and the City has not provided responsive records, nor cited an exemption for withholding records, I find the City has not met its burden in responding to the requests in accordance with G. L. c. 66, § 10(b). Consequently, the City must provide an estimated date as to when it intends to complete the search and provide the responsive records. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(a) (records must be provided without unreasonable delay). To the extent possible, the City must provide responsive records on a rolling basis. Conclusion Accordingly, the City is ordered to provide Ms. Efendi with responses to the requests, 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 responses must be provided to this office. It is preferable to send electronic copies of the responses to this office at pre@sec.state.ma.us. Sincerely, Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records cc: Michelle Efendi