Marc Shuster v. Cambridge, City of - Office of the City Clerk (SPR 20251065)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records April 25, 2025 SPR25/1065 Seah Levy Records Access Officer City of Cambridge 795 Massachsuetts Avenue Cambridge, MA 02139 Dear Ms. Levy: I have received the petition of Marc Shuster appealing the response of the City of Cambridge (City) to a request for public records. See G. L. c. 66 § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). On March 11, 2025, Mr. Shuster requested the following for the period of November 1, 2023 to March 1, 2025: [1] Email correspondence with the [identified] City Building Commissioner, or [identified] Assistant Commissioner that contain any of the following keywords: [a] Riverview[;] [b] 221 Mt Auburn[;] [c] 221 Mt. Auburn[;] [d] 221 Mount Auburn[.] The City provided a response on March 27, 2025. Unsatisfied with the City’s response, Mr. Shuster petitioned this office and this appeal, SPR25/1065, was opened as a result. The Public Records Law The Public Records Law strongly favors disclosure by creating a presumption that all governmental records are public records. G. L. c. 66, § 10A(d); 950 C.M.R. 32.03(4). “Public records” is broadly defined to include all documentary materials or data, regardless of physical form or characteristics, made or received by any officer or employee of any agency or municipality of the Commonwealth, unless falling within a statutory exemption. G. L. c. 4, § 7(26). 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

Seah Levy SPR25/1065 Page 2 April 25, 2025 It is the burden of the records custodian to demonstrate the application of an exemption in order to withhold a requested record. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(b)(iv); 950 C.M.R. 32.06(3); see also Dist. Attorney for the Norfolk Dist. v. Flatley, 419 Mass. 507, 511 (1995) (custodian has the burden of establishing the applicability of an exemption). To meet the specificity requirement a custodian must not only cite an exemption, but must also state why the exemption applies to the withheld or redacted portion of the responsive record. If there are any fees associated with a response a written, good faith estimate must be provided. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(b)(viii); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.07(2). Once fees are paid, a records custodian must provide the responsive records. The City’s March 27th Response In its March 27, 2025 response, the City stated, “I had hoped to have it to you already, but I am about 2/3rds of the way through the emails.” Current Appeal In his April 17, 2025 petition to this office, Mr. Shuster stated, “I received an initial response that they were ‘2/3 of the way through’. I asked if I could see records retrieved so far, but I have not received any follow-up responses.” Timeliness in Providing Records G. L. c. 66, § 10(b) provides, in pertinent part, that if the magnitude or difficulty of the request unduly burdens the other responsibilities of the agency or municipality such that the agency or municipality cannot provide records within 10 business days, the agency or municipality must inform the requestor in writing within 10 business days. With respect to the timeframe to produce responsive records, the written response shall: identify a reasonable timeframe in which the agency or municipality shall produce the public records sought; provided, that for an agency, the timeframe shall not exceed 15 business days following the initial receipt of the request for public records and for a municipality the timeframe shall not exceed 25 business days following the initial receipt of the request for public records; and provided further, that the requestor may voluntarily agree to a response date beyond the timeframes set forth herein. G. L. c. 66, § 10(b)(vi). Where Mr. Shuster submitted his request on March 11, 2025, and the City has not provided the responsive records, I find the City has not met its burden in responding to the request in accordance with G. L. c. 66, § 10(b)(vi). Consequently, I find the City must provide an estimated date as to when it intends to complete the search and provide the responsive records.

Seah Levy SPR25/1065 Page 3 April 25, 2025 See G. L. c. 66, § 10(a) (records must be provided without unreasonable delay). Conclusion Accordingly, the City is ordered to provide Mr. Shuster with a response to the request, provided in a manner consistent with this order, the Public Records Law and its Regulations within ten (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. Mr. Shuster may appeal the substantive nature of the City’s response within ninety (90) days. See 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Sincerely, Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records cc: Marc Shuster