Elise Lambert v. Springfield, City of (SPR 20243082)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records November 26, 2024 SPR24/3082 Jeremy Saint Laurent, Esq. First Associate City Solicitor City of Springfield 36 Court Street, Room 210 Springfield, MA 01103 Dear Attorney Saint Laurent: I have received the petition of Elise M. Lambert, of the Committee for Public Counsel Services, appealing the response of the City of Springfield (City) to a request for public records. See G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). On March 25, 2024, Ms. Lambert requested, “[t]he following Special Orders: . . . SO#23-005[,] SO#23-009[,] SO#23-028[,] SO#23-059[,] [and] SO#23-180[.] Our preferred form of production is the records in their native form.” The City provided a response on April 8, 2024, which included a fee estimate of $263.75 to respond to the request and the City’s denial of records responsive to SO#23-180 pursuant to Exemption (f) of the Public Records Law. On April 17, 2024, Ms. Lambert clarified her request and stated, “[w]e are only looking for the orders themselves without any supporting documentation or supporting audio recordings.” On April 22, 2024, the City responded and provided records responsive to SO#23- 059, cited Exemption (f) to deny records responsive to SO#23-005 and SO#23-180 and Exemption (a) to deny records responsive to SO#23-009 and SO#23-028. Additionally, the City provided a fee estimate of $79.50. On June 18, 2024, Ms. Lambert narrowed her request to “only these two Special orders (SO#23-005 and SO#23-180).” Following additional correspondence between Ms. Lambert and a City representative, the City provided a response on August 15, 2024, in which it provided records responsive to SO#23- 005 and SO#23-180, as well as a fee estimate of $100. On August 19, 2024, Ms. Lambert clarified her request and advised, “I requested only the special orders and no supporting documents. . . . Therefore, I am still requesting SO#23-005 and SO#23-180 without any supporting documentation.” On August 23, 2024, the City responded and provided additional records responsive to SO#23-005 and SO#23-180. On October 9, 2024, Ms. Lambert requested, “[t]he Special Order reports that correspond to SO#23-005 and SO#23-180. Our preferred form of production is the records in their native form.” The City provided a response on the same date, 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

Jeremy Saint Laurent, Esq. SPR24/3082 Page 2 November 26, 2024 in which it reiterated its August 15, 2024 fee estimate and stated, “[t]he fee estimate includes the estimate for the records associated with the requested Special Orders 23-005 and 23-180 and does not include any video or audio redaction review estimates.” Unsatisfied with the City’s October 9, 2024 response, Ms. Lambert petitioned this office and this appeal, SPR24/3082, was opened as a result. Following the opening of this appeal, I learned that the City intends on providing a subsequent response to Ms. Lambert. Accordingly, the City is ordered to provide Ms. Lambert with said response, in a manner consistent with this order, the Public Records Law and its Regulations within 10 business days. A copy of any such response must be provided to this office. It is preferable to send an electronic copy of the response to this office at pre@sec.state.ma.us. Ms. Lambert may appeal the substantive nature of the City’s response within ninety days. See 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Sincerely, Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records cc: Elise M. Lambert