Open Commonwealth v. Malden, City of (SPR 20242463)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records September 4, 2024 SPR24/2463 Carol Ann T. Desiderio City Clerk City of Malden 215 Pleasant Street, Room 220 Malden, MA 02148 Dear Ms. Desiderio: On August 29, 2024, this office received your petition on behalf of the City of Malden (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 School furnished a copy of the petition to the requestor, Open Commonwealth. G. L. c. 66, § 10(c); G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iv)(2). In four (4) separate requests, on August 26, 2024, the requestor sought the following records pertaining to various cell phone information: [1] Last 50 texts for seven (7) individuals[;] [2] Apps included on six (6) city-owned cell phones[;] [3] Device info; last 100 texts, last 100 voicemails; apps on three (3) cell phones[;] [4] Last 12 months of bills for nine (9) cell phones. 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; 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

Carol Ann T. Desiderio SPR24/2463 Page 2 September 4, 2024 (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 30 business days beyond the time specified under the statute” and provides the following information in support of its request: [G]iven the broad scope of the requests, four requests received from the same requestor within a 2+ hour window and the volume of potentially responsive records, the City submits that it is not reasonable to require it to produce the responsive records within 10 business days. … [A]dditionally, the employees who will perform the search and recovery, segregation and potential redaction process have many other responsibilities which they cannot ignore. The City will be unable to complete its review, redaction, and production of records during normal business hours of operation without an extension. 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, 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. Conclusion As described above, I find that the City has established good cause for a time extension of 30 business days.

Carol Ann T. Desiderio SPR24/2463 Page 3 September 4, 2024 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: Open Commonwealth Stephanie Burke