Sarah L. Ryley v. Hanson, Town of - Police Department (SPR 20241328)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records May 8, 2024 SPR24/1328 Michael Miksch Chief of Police Hanson Police Department 775 Main Street Hanson, MA 02341 Dear Chief Miksch: On May 1, 2024, this office received your petition on behalf of the Hanson Police Department (Department) 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, I understand that the Department furnished a copy of this petition to the requestor, Sarah Ryley, of the Boston Globe. G. L. c. 66, § 10(c); G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iv)(2). On April 8, 2024, Ms. Ryley requested two main categories and approximately 14 sub-categories of “records pertaining to paid police details through the Hanson Police Department, from 2018 through the date ... records are retrieved.” Petitions 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. 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

Chief Michael Miksch SPR24/1328 Page 2 May 8, 2024 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) shall provide an initial response to a requestor within ten business days after receipt of a request for public records. 950 C.M.R. 32.06(4)(b). Request for Additional Time to Produce Responsive Records In its petition, the Department requests an extension “up to May 30th to complete” the request. In support of its petition, the Department provides the following information: On April 17, 2024, Hanson Police responded with a sample of our available documents and to clarify what Mrs. Ryley was requesting. All of our detail requests, vendor slips, payroll, and invoices are in paper form. We can scan them into a PDF format and send them, but this will be a very time-consuming process. As of April 30, 2024, we have still not received word back on the clarification request of April 17th. The Hanson Police Department has only 1 civilian employee who can complete this task. The civilian employee has many other duties to include detail billing, receivables, other payroll, scheduling, and a number of other daily duties. We do not have any of the records in a searchable electronic format. To fulfill this request will be time consuming. We estimate between 16 and 24 hours on top of their normal duties. Beyond converting the documents into a scanned PDF there will be a review of each document and some redaction. Some of the details during this time frame were “keep the peace” details that are associated with domestic violence or court ordered in regard to 209A orders. Also, other details are private details by citizens where home phone numbers and addresses of potentially protected individuals may need to be redacted. We are seeking an extension, not to delay or hinder Mrs. Ryley’s request, but to actually be able to meet her request. The Hanson Police Department does not have the personal [sic] to meet this large of a request in the normal time frames of the Public Records Law. We are currently working on the request even though we did not get clarification. However, I do not anticipate being able to meet this request before May 30th. Based on the information provided in the Department’s petition, I find that in light of the need to collect, segregate and examine the records, the scope of redaction required to prevent

Chief Michael Miksch SPR24/1328 Page 3 May 8, 2024 unlawful disclosure, the capacity of the Department to produce the request without the extension, and efforts undertaken by the Department in fulfilling the current request, the Department has established good cause to permit an extension of time. G. L. c. 66, § 10(c)(i)-(iv). The Department is granted an extension of 15 business days. Conclusion Accordingly, I find the Department has established good cause for a time extension of 15 business days as described above. This office encourages Ms. Ryley and the Department to communicate directly in order to facilitate providing records more efficiently and affordably. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(b)(vii) (a municipality shall suggest a reasonable modification to the scope of the request or offer to assist the requestor to modify the scope of the request if doing so would enable the municipality to produce records sought more efficiently and affordably). Please note, Ms. Ryley 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: Sarah Ryley