Mark Gould v. North Attleborough, Town of - Town Clerk (SPR 20250747)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records March 20, 2025 SPR25/0747 Patricia McNielly Town Clerk Town of North Attleboro 43 South Washington Street North Attleboro, MA 02760 Dear Ms. McNielly: On March 18, 2025, this office received your petition on behalf of the Town of North Attleboro (Town) 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 Town furnished a copy of the petition to the requestor, Attorney Mark Gould. G. L. c. 66, § 10(c); G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iv)(2). On February 19, 2025, Attorney Gould requested “[a]ll emails sent from the Council President . . . between February 19, 2023 and February 18, 2025 including all attachments and email chains related to the emails.” On March 7, 2025, Attorney Gould narrowed the scope of the request to seek emails sent between the following dates: [1] February 15, 2023- April 15, 2023[;] [2] May 1, 2024- May 15, 2024[;] [3] January 14, 2025-March 7, 2025[.] Please note that in an email to this office on March 19, 2025, Attorney Gould objected to the Town’s petition. Previous Petition This request was the subject of a previous fee petition. See SPR25/0686 Determination of the Supervisor of Records (March 14, 2025). In my March 14th determination, I found that the Town may assess a fee for segregation and redaction of the responsive records and that the Town may assess a fee limited to $75.00 per hour for attorney review under the attorney-client privilege. 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

Patricia McNielly SPR25/0747 Page 2 March 20, 2025 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; (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 Town requests “an extension of time regarding [the enclosed] public record request and SPR25/0686” and states “[t]his request for an extension of time would allow time for searching, segregating, and redacting and compile over 250 plus documents.” Subsequently, in an email to this office on March 18, 2025, the Town clarified that it seeks an extension of ten business days. In light of the need to collect, segregate and examine the records, the Town has established good cause to permit an extension of time. G. L. c. 66, § 10(c)(i)-(iii). The Town is granted an extension of 10 business days.

Patricia McNielly SPR25/0747 Page 3 March 20, 2025 Conclusion As described above, I find that the Town has established good cause for a time extension of 10 business days. Please note, Attorney Gould 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: Mark Gould, Esq.