Kelly Jensen v. Burlington, Town of - Town Administrator (SPR 20252665)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records September 15, 2025 SPR25/2665 Jennifer Priest Town Clerk Town of Burlington 29 Center Street Burlington, MA 01803 Dear Ms. Priest: On September 9, 2025, this office received the petition of Leo J. Peloquin, Esq., of Norris, Murray & Peloquin, LLC, on behalf of the Town of Burlington (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, Kelly Jensen, of Riot New Media. G. L. c. 66, § 10(c); G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iv)(2). On August 26, 2025, “emails between and among [five identified individuals], and the Burlington Library Trustees (...@burlingtonpl.org), between the dates of June 1, 2024 and August 26, 2025 with the following [eight identified] words[.]” Concurrent Petition This request was also the subject of a fee petition submitted by the Town. See SPR25/2668 Determination of the Supervisor of Records (September 15, 2025). In my September 15th determination, I found that the Town had met its burden to charge fees in excess of $25.00 per hour for attorney review. 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; 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

Joanne Perperian SPR25/2665 Page 2 September 12, 2025 (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 30 business days and provides the following in support its request: In order to identify any responsive records, the Town must conduct searches of two (2) separate email systems to segregate and review emails to determine whether there are any such records and whether any record/portion of a record is exempt from disclosure. The task of finding, segregating, reviewing and redacting these records cannot reasonably be completed within the initial ten (10) business day statutory time period. Further, the Town is getting an estimate of the hours it will take to complete this work. If, as expected, it will take more than two (2) hours and cost at least $25/hour for the lowest paid employee qualified to complete the work, the Town will be filing a petition to charge the requestor for the cost beyond two (2) hours to comply with the request. This extension will also provide an opportunity for the Town and Ms. Jensen to confer regarding the narrowing of her request to reduce the cost to both the Town and her.

Joanne Perperian SPR25/2665 Page 3 September 12, 2025 In light of the need to collect, segregate and examine the records, as well as the capacity of the Town to produce the records without an extension, 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 30 business days. Conclusion Accordingly, I find the Town has established good cause for a time extension of 30 business days as described above. Please note, Ms. Jensen 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: Kelly Jensen Leo J. Peloquin, Esq.