George and Jen Burden v. Lunenburg, Town of - Police Department (SPR 20251879)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records July 8, 2025 SPR25/1879 Lieutenant Sean Zrate Records Access Officer Lunenburg Police Department 655 Massachusetts Avenue Lunenburg, MA 01462 Dear Lieutenant Zrate: On June 30, 2025, this office received your petition on behalf of the Lunenburg Police Department (Department) 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 requestors, George and Jennifer Burden. G. L. c. 66, § 10(c); G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iv)(2). On June 11, 2025, Mr. and Mrs. Burden requested “all police reports or logs created since January 1, 2010 that involved any of the following [17 identified] individuals[.]” Please note that in an email to this Office on June 30, 2025, Mr. and Mrs. Burden objected to the Department’s petition. Open Appeal and Petition This request is currently the subject of an appeal and a separate petition from the Department. See SPR25/1876; see also SPR25/1908. Determinations will be issued separately within 10 business days within ten business days of receipt of the appeal and within five business days of receipt of the petition. 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

Lieutenant Sean Zrate SPR25/1879 Page 2 July 8, 2025 (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 Department requests an extension of time and argues the following in support of its request: Due to the number of public records requests filed by the Burdens, an extension would have been needed to locate, redact, and deliver these records, on top of what was already being requested and/or filed. Furthermore, the Burdens are asking the Town to provide “all records” for seventeen (17) residents over the course of fifteen (15) years. This request is burdensome and unreasonable and will potentially take hours, if not days, to complete. The Town is also respectfully requesting the Burden’s narrow the scope of their request by either a searchable topic or a manageable span of time. Subsequently, in an email to this office on July 2, 2025, the Department clarified that it seeks an extension of 30 business days. In light of the need to search for, collect, segregate or examine records and efforts undertaken by the Department in fulfilling the previous requests, the Department has established good cause to permit an extension of time. G. L. c. 66, § 10(c)(i)-(iii). The Department is granted an extension of 30 business days.

Lieutenant Sean Zrate SPR25/1879 Page 3 July 8, 2025 Conclusion As described above, I find that the Department has established good cause for a time extension of 30 business days. Please note, Mr. and Mrs. Burden have 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: George and Jennifer Burden