Tina Murray v. Boston, City of - Public Records (SPR 20252402)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records August 22, 2025 SPR25/2402 Grace Jung Director of Public Records City of Boston 1 City Hall Square Boston, MA 02201 Dear Ms. Jung: I have received the petition of Tina Murray appealing the response of the City of Boston (City) to a request for public records. See G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). On July 8, 2025, Ms. Murray sought the following: [C]opies of any agreement or payment made by the City in connection with, or pursuant to, the separation from employment (c. 2022) at the Boston Planning and Redevelopment Agency of any of these persons: [three identified individuals] Please construe this request to include (but not be limited to): Any severance agreement entered into between the BPDA or City and any of the three persons named above. Any non-disclosure agreement, or other agreement however styled containing provisions limiting the right or ability of any of these three persons to make public statements or disclosures about their employment with the BPDA/City or the circumstances of their departure, or to make critical or allegedly disparaging statements to others about the BPDA or City. Any agreement by which any of these three persons forsook the right to sue the BPDA or City for unlawful discrimination, wrongful termination or other alleged violation of state or federal employment law. Records evidencing the fact or amount of, or the basis/reason for, any payment or other thing of value provided by the City to any of these three persons in connection with, or pursuant to, their separation from employment, or in consideration for particular undertakings or binding commitments they made to the BPDA or City. 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

Grace Jung SPR25/2394 Page 2 August 22, 2025 Any other agreement of any kind entered into between the BPDA or City and any of these three persons during the period April 1, 2022 and December 31, 2022. The City responded on July 8, 2025 and July 22, 2025. Unsatisfied with the responses, Ms. Murray petitioned this office and this appeal, SPR25/2402, 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 July 8th and July 22nd Responses In its July 8, 2025 response, the City acknowledged receipt of Ms. Murray’s request, assigning the reference number R003457-070825. In its July 22, 2025 response, the City stated, “[d]ue to the nature of your request, additional time is needed. As such, the City will need up to, but no more than, fifteen (15) additional business days to review and process your request.” Current Appeal In her appeal, Ms. Murray states, “[a]s of today, August 14, 2025, I have not received records nor other communication since.” 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

Grace Jung SPR25/2394 Page 3 August 22, 2025 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 Ms. Murray submitted her request on July 8, 2025, and the City has not provided the responsive records, nor cited an exemption for withholding records, I find that the City has not met its burden in responding to the request in accordance with G. L c. 66, § 10(b)(vi). Consequently, the City must provide an estimated date as to when it intends to complete the search and provide any 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 Ms. Murray 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. Ms. Murray 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: Tina Murray