Keith Bensten v. Truro, Town of - Town Clerk (SPR 20241569)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records May 30, 2024 SPR24/1569 Noelle Scoullar Town of Truro 24 Town Hall Road P.O. Box 2012 Truro, MA 02666 Dear Ms. Scoullar: On May 23, 2024, 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 Town furnished a copy of the petition to the requestor, Attorney Keith H. Bensten, of Day Pitney, LLP. G. L. c. 66, § 10(c); G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iv)(2). On May 14, 2024, Attorney Bensten requested the following records for the period from April 1, 2023 to the present: [1] All permit applications for temporary signs under Section 11 of the Sign Code[;] [2] All permits for temporary signs under Section 11 of the Sign Code[;] [3] All internal practices and/or procedures concerning the Sign Code[;] [4] All documents concerning the enforcement of the Sign Code[;] [5] All notices of violation issued to Town residents concerning the Sign Code[;] [6] All documents concerning the removal of signs by the Town[;] [7] All communications with Town residents concerning the Sign Code[;] [8] All internal communications concerning the Sign Code[;] [9] All communications involving the Building Commissioner concerning the Sign Code[;] [10] All communications involving any member(s) of the Select Board concerning the Sign Code[;] [11] All communications involving any member(s) of the Planning Board concerning the Sign Code[;] [12] All communications concerning political and/or election signs[.] 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 SPR24/1569 Page 2 May 30, 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 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 10 days for the Town to search/compile records and send an ensuing good faith estimate to Mr. Bensten in the above- referenced public records request, submitted on 05/14/2024.” In support of its request, the Town provides the following information: [The Town] is working with limited staff and is requesting the additional time for staff and legal assistance . . . [A]ddressing these requests – including communicating with requestors and tracking the progress of each request – has come to require the full-time attention of a Town employee, whose regular duties are juggled by their staff or are unattended. The Town has fulfilled a number of these public records requests within the time periods required by law.

Noelle Scoullar SPR24/1569 Page 3 May 30, 2024 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 10 business days. Conclusion As described above, I find that the Town has established good cause for a time extension of 10 business days. Please note, Attorney Bensten 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: Keith H. Bensten, Esq.