Geraldine Mullaly v. Swansea, Town of - Town Clerk (SPR 20242369)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records August 27, 2024 SPR24/2369 Diane Pelland Town Clerk Town of Swansea 81 Main Street Swansea, MA 02777 Dear Ms. Pelland: On August 21, 2024, this office received your petition on behalf of the Town of Swansea (Town) seeking a relief from the obligation to produce responsive 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 Town furnished a copy of this petition to the requestor, Geraldine Mullaly. G. L. c. 66, § 10(c); G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iv)(2). The Town states that it received “237 [requests from Ms. Mullaly] from November 11, 2022 to August 5, 2024, with 132 of those requests submitted in calendar year 2024 alone.” The Town further indicates that as of the date of its petition, “that is between August 6th and August 20th, Mullaly has submitted fifteen additional requests.” Petitions for an Extension of Time and for Relief from the Obligation to Respond 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 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

Diane Pelland SPR24/2369 Page 2 August 27, 2024 (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) 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 Relief In its petition, the Town requests that the Supervisor “[r]elieve Town of Swansea from responding to current pending and future Records Request from Geraldine Mullaly[.]” The Town explains that Ms. Mullaly’s “conduct has made it impossible to meet the Town’s public records law obligations” and states the following in support of its request: Mullaly is a is a [sic] voracious requestor whose requests are in no way an effort to glean an understanding of a topic or participate further in public action. Rather, she uses the law to obstruct projects and plans with which she personally doesn’t agree, burdening and harassing staff and volunteers. For instance, she has repeatedly opposed and attacked projects relating to a Municipal Complex, Town Hall improvements, Town Hall Annex improvements, Highway Garage, or Fire Feasibility Station. Her activities have placed undue burden upon the Town of Swansea, its officers and volunteers, as well as continuing to detract precious resources away from the administration and implementation of governmental services. . . . Based up the number of requests over the last two years, and most recently, the number of requests in the last two weeks alone, along with the nature and content of the requests, as well as Mullaly’s overall harassing behavior, your office should make a similar finding [to a previous determination from the Supervisor] as to Mullaly, finally relieving the Town of Swansea from this continuous frivolous, harassing behavior. . . . The Town goes on to provide examples of instances “demonstrating Mullaly’s unreasonableness” as well as examples of instances supporting its claim that Ms. Mullaly’s “behavior demonstrates her requests are frivolous and meant as a bullying and intimidation tactic as the Town conducts its business.” The Town further states: Her constant numerous lengthy and confusing emails and various attachments

Diane Pelland SPR24/2369 Page 3 August 27, 2024 wreaks havoc on the town, abusing the process meant to ensure public participation and transparency. Often, they come in rapid succession and are a barrage of emails meant to intimidate and detract precious resources away from meritorious tasks in favor of bending to her will. Even when the Town explains the incredible demands on its personnel and their limited time given small size of its staff, she dismisses their concerns and continues her barrage. The Town has attempted to satisfy Mullaly through other methods of providing information. For instance, she is repeatedly given the floor at public meetings, able to ask her questions of the public bodies – a privilege she gladly accepts and takes advantage of. She has been offered meetings with staff, board members, and others. She has very rarely taken advantage of these and when not everyone she demands be present attend due to various schedules, she refuses to meet, resulting in a complete waste of time. The mere monitoring of Mullaly’s excessive public records requests to ensure the appropriate individuals are notified of the request and overseeing prompt and timely responses, has become an additional full-time job for the Town’s Records Access Officer and others. Mullaly’s conduct has created significant additional burdens on the Town Clerk as she embarks on important election work for the 2024 Presidential Election. . . . Mullaly has demonstrated a vast history of frivolous requests that does not meet a standard of reasonableness. . . . Mullaly’s frequent requesting activity forces Town officials to drop their normal duties in order to timely respond to the inordinate number of, and detail in, requests. The Town includes with its petition a “spreadsheet of [Ms. Mullaly’s] records requests . . . to show the extent of this overreach.” Based on the information provided in the Town’s petition, I find that the Town has not demonstrated the requests are frivolous and not intended for the broad dissemination of information to the public about actual or alleged government activity, as required by G. L. c. 66, § 10(c). Conclusion In light of the above, I cannot grant the Town’s petition seeking relief from its obligation to produce responsive records at this time. Please note, this office may deny an appeal if, in the opinion of the Supervisor of Records, the request is designed or intended to harass, intimidate, or assist in the commission of a crime. See 950 C.M.R. 32.08(2)(b)(2).

Diane Pelland SPR24/2369 Page 4 August 27, 2024 Sincerely, Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records cc: Geraldine Mullaly Anthony C. Savastano, Esq.