Eitan Y. Goldberg v. Springfield, City of (SPR 20242922)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records October 31, 2024 SPR24/2922 Stephen G. Roche, Esq. Second Associate City Solicitor City of Springfield 36 Court Street Springfield, MA 01103 Dear Attorney Roche: On October 25, 2024, this office received your petition on behalf of the City of Springfield (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, Attorney Eitan Y. Goldberg, of Brown and Goldberg, P.C. G. L. c. 66, § 10(c); G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iv)(2). From September 23, 2024 to October 14, 2024, Attorney Goldberg submitted four (4) requests seeking the following: 09/23/2024: “Motor Vehicle Accident reports from September 16, 2024 thru September 22, 2024.” 09/30/2024 “Motor Vehicle Accident reports from September 23, 2024 thru September 29, 2024.” 10/07/2024 “Motor Vehicle Accident reports from September 30, 2024 thru October 6, 2024.” 10/14/2024 “Motor Vehicle Accident reports from October 7, 2024 thru October 13, 2024.” Petition for an Extension of Time Under the Public Records Law, upon a showing of good cause, the Supervisor of Records 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

Stephen G. Roche SPR24/2922 Page 2 October 31, 2024 (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 City requests “an extension of thirty (30) days to complete the processing of all of Attorney Goldberg’s request.” In support of its request the City provides the following information: Processing each of these requests is time-intensive for the Traffic Bureau of the Springfield Police Department (SPD). The SPD staff must review and sort through hundreds of files for the requested information. Please keep in mind that accidents range in severity and importance (i. e., a fatality). Due to this, some accidents may require more time to review because of the sensitive material involved. … Furthermore, if a crash report involves an ongoing investigation, the record will be redacted or withheld in its entirety under M.G.L. ch. 4, § 7(26)(f) if required to prevent frustrating an ongoing law enforcement investigation. When the 4th request was sent to the SPD recently, the Traffic Bureau responded

Stephen G. Roche SPR24/2922 Page 3 October 31, 2024 that it is currently backed up on at least 700 reports for the three requests that are being processed. The City submitted their petition on October 25, 2024 more than twenty business days after receipt of Attorney Goldberg’s September 23rd request. In light of the fact the City has not demonstrated it submitted a timely petition, permission for an extension of time cannot be granted for the September 23rd request. 950 C.M.R. 32.06(4)(g). However, 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 for Attorney Goldberg’s September 30th, October 7th, and October 10th requests. G. L. c. 66, § 10(c)(i)-(iii). The City is granted an extension of 30 business days for these requests. Conclusion As described above, I find that the City has established good cause for a time extension of 30 business days for the above mentioned requests. Please note, Attorney Goldberg 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: Eitan Y. Goldberg, Esq.