Justin Nigrelli v. Lawrence, City of - Office of the City Clerk (SPR 20251900)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records July 9, 2025 SPR25/1900 Eileen O’Connor Bernal City Clerk City of Lawrence 200 Common Street, Room 107 Lawrence, MA 01840 Dear Ms. O’Connor Bernal: I have received the petition of Justin Nigrelli, of the Lawrence Firefighters IAFF Local 146, appealing the response of the City of Lawrence (City) to a request for public records. See G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). On April 28, 2025, Mr. Nigrelli sought the following related to “city contract #7345 ‘Lawrence General Hospital – Ambulance Services’”: [1] Number of BLS ambulances in services at 0700 hours, 1500 hours, and 2300 hours every day from 1/1/2021 to 4/28/25[;] [2] Number of ALS (double paramedic) ambulances in service at 0700 hours, 1500 hours, and 2300 hours every day from 1/1/21 to 4/28/25[;] [3] Monthly number of 911 BLS calls for service in Lawrence for each month in 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025[;] [4] Monthly number of 911 ALS calls for service in Lawrence for each month in 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025[;] [5] The number of 911 calls in Lawrence each month from January 2021 to May 2025 that required mutual aid ambulances from any of the following fire departments: Methuen, North Andover, Andover, Salem NH, Middleton, North Reading[;] [6] The number of 911 calls in Lawrence each month from January 2021 to May 2025 that were responded to by any of the following ambulance companies: [nine identified companies], or any other private ambulance service. 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

Eileen O’Conner Bernal SPR25/1900 Page 2 July 9, 2025 Regarding the contract “Scope of Services”, I request the following: [1] Every date in which the contractor was not able to fulfill the staffing requirements of 3 BLS and 2 ALS ambulances at any period of time in such a 24 hour day[;] [2] As per section 8, each “quarterly report on response times, unit availability, missed calls, back-up services, and mutual aid use,” from January 1, 2021 to May 1, 2025[;] [3] As per section 15, any notes or reports from the quarterly meetings between the Fire Chief (or designee) and Director, Pre-Hospital EMS (or designee). The City responded on May 12, 2025 and May 13, 2025. Unsatisfied with the responses, Mr. Nigrelli petitioned this office and this appeal, SPR25/1900, 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). It is the burden of the records custodian to demonstrate the application of an exemption in order to withhold a requested record. 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 May 12th and May 13th Responses In its May 12, 2025 response, the City stated, “[p]lease see attached city contract #7345 ‘Lawrence General Hospital – Ambulance Services[.]’” In its May 13, 2025 response, the City stated, “[p]lease know that the Contract is not the only response that the City will be sending you…the [C]ity is requesting additional time to compile the information…If you agree to the 20 day extension, the clock starts running today.”

Eileen O’Conner Bernal SPR25/1900 Page 3 July 9, 2025 Current Appeal In his June 30, 2025 petition to this office, Mr. Nigrelli stated, “…It has been 32 business days since their request for 20 business days.” Timeframe for Providing Records G. L. c. 66, § 10(b) provides, in pertinent part, that if the magnitude or difficulty of a 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 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. Nigrelli submitted his request on April 28, 2025, and the City has not provided the outstanding 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). Consequently, the City must provide an estimated date as to when it intends to complete the search and provide the remaining responsive records. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(a) (records must be provided without unreasonable delay). To the extent possible, the City must provide responsive records on a rolling basis. Conclusion Accordingly, the City is ordered to provide Mr. Nigrelli 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. Nigrelli 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: Justin Nigrelli