Maggie Mckee v. Quincy, City of - City Solicitor (SPR 20242889)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records October 25, 2024 SPR24/2889 James Timmins, Esq. City Solicitor City of Quincy 1305 Hancock Street Quincy, MA 02169 Dear Attorney Timmins: On October 21, 2024, this office received your petition on behalf of the City of Quincy (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, Maggie McKee. G. L. c. 66, § 10(c); G. L.c. 66, § 10(d)(iv)(2). On July 26, 2024, Ms. McKee requested, “all emails, faxes, letters, and memos to and from any city councilor, the mayor, chief of staff… and chief financial officer… between October 1, 2023, and July 26, 2024 that reference any of the following terms…” On October 22, 2024, Ms. McKee sent correspondence to this office and the City objecting to the City’s petition. Prior Appeal This request was the subject of a prior appeal. See SPR24/2717 Determination of the Supervisor of Records (October 11, 2024). In my October 11th determination, I ordered the City to provide a response to Ms. McKee’s request. Subsequently, the City submitted the present petition on October 21, 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: 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

James Timmins, Esq. SPR24/2889 Page 2 October 25, 2024 (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 City requests, “an extension of time to conduct its work and furnish the requested records in its possession of thirty (30) business days in accordance with the statute.” In support of its request the City provides the following information: There are 9 City Councilors, The Mayor, Chief of Staff . . . and Chief Financial officer ... That’s 12 separate searches, we were asked to include both incoming and outgoing mail. That makes 2 searches per person. A search would not include a person if they were Bcc or Cc on an email, these emails will only include an email sent directly to the person or sent by that person. . . . Each Description is a separate search so there would be 32 outputted emails per person requested. 16 separate incoming emails and 16 outgoing emails that’s if the criteria gets a hit. We are searching through over 10 million emails in our archived emails. So, these procedures would take quite some time. We would average with the search, collection of output and exporting the output to readable format to take approximately 1 ½ hours per search.

James Timmins, Esq. SPR24/2889 Page 3 October 25, 2024 12 people incoming searches 192 searches 12 people outgoing searches 192 searches Total of 384 searches at 1 ½ hour per search is 586 hours. In light of the need to collect 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. Please note, Ms. McKee 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: Maggie McKee