Commonwealth Transparency v. Springfield, City of - Public Schools (SPR 20241230)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records April 30, 2024 SPR24/1230 Justin P. Morin Public Records Coordinator City of Springfield – Law Department 36 Court Street, Room 210 Springfield, MA 01103 Dear Mr. Morin: On April 24, 2024, this office received your petition on behalf of the City of Springfield (City) 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 City furnished a copy of the petition to the requestor, Commonwealth Transparency. G. L. c. 66, § 10(c); G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iv)(2). On March 10, 2024, the requestor sought, “[a]ll invoices paid to any legal service provider for the time period of January 1, 2019 – March 10, 2024.” Previous Appeal This request was the subject of a previous appeal. See SPR24/0931 Determination of the Supervisor of Records (April 2, 2024). In my April 2nd determination, I ordered the City to provide a response to the requestor. Subsequently, the City responded on April 9, 2024, indicating that it possesses 1604 pages of responsive records. The City submitted the present petition on April 24, 2024. 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 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

Justin P. Morin SPR24/1230 Page 2 April 30, 2024 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 City requests “an additional thirty (30) business days ... to provide a response to Public Records Request 24-933.” In support of its request, the City provides the following information: Due to an increased uptick of requests received by the City, the City currently has 232 open requests in various stages of processing. The records for this request entail at least 1604 pages of invoices for legal services provided to the School Department from outside counsel. The records contain notations and billing line items that must be examined to determine whether they are exempt under attorney-client confidentiality. Any records that are not exempt under this privilege must then be reviewed for redactions including any identifiable information of juveniles and other sensitive data related to specifically named individuals. Additionally, in its petition, the City explains that it “became aware of this request on March 27, 2024. The twentieth business day is April 25, 2024.” In light of the need to collect, segregate and examine the records, as well as the capacity of the City to produce the records without an extension, and the scope of redaction required to prevent unlawful disclosure, the City has established good cause to permit an extension of time. G. L. c. 66, § 10(c)(i)-(iii). The City is granted an extension of 30 business days.

Justin P. Morin SPR24/1230 Page 3 April 30, 2024 Conclusion As described above, I find that the City has established good cause for a time extension of 30 business days. Please note, the requestor 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: Commonwealth Transparency