Avi Lindenboim v. Brookline, Town of - Town Clerk (SPR 20253461)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records November 26, 2025 SPR25/3461 Ben Kaufman Town Clerk Town of Brookline 333 Washington Street, Room 104 Brookline, MA 02445 Dear Mr. Kaufman: I have received the petition of Avi Lindenboim, appealing the response of the Town of Brookline (Town) to a request for public records. See G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). On October 27, 2025, Mr. Lindenboim requested the following records from “Fiscal Year 2020 through the present (FY2020–Present)”: [E]very single record, line item, and document reflecting any money paid out, transferred out, or otherwise expended by the Town of Brookline or the Brookline Public Schools. This request includes, but is not limited to, the following (produce all items for every transaction regardless of dollar amount): [1] Complete line-by-line expense ledgers and financial transaction records for all Town and School funds (general fund, revolving/enterprise funds, grants, federal/state pass-through funds, trust funds, special appropriations, capital funds, bond funds, etc.), showing: date of transaction; vendor/payee name and vendor ID; the full description/purpose text as recorded; the exact amount (every cent); account/fund number and department code; check/warrant/ACH/ wire reference or other payment ID; purchase order and invoice numbers; transaction type (check, ACH, wire, petty cash, procurement card, reimbursement, stipend, payroll deduction, grant drawdown, settlement, refund, transfer, etc.); and any internal notes, comments, approval codes, or attachments tied to the transaction in your financial system (e.g., MUNIS notes, scanned invoices, receipts, contracts)[;] [2] Procurement records and supporting documents: purchase orders, invoices, receipts, packing slips, vendor contracts, change orders, delivery confirmations, vendor statements, and all settlements or release agreements involving payments (regardless of amount)[;] 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

Ben Kaufman SPR25/3461 Page 2 November 26, 2025 [3] Vendor warrant reports, check registers, electronic funds transfer logs, petty- cash logs, p-card (procurement card) transaction logs, reimbursements, stipends, honoraria, refunds, credits, and all other forms of payment or disbursement[;] [4] Authorization and approval records for each transaction, including the full name, title, and department of the person(s) who requested, ordered, approved, signed, or processed the expenditure (requestor, approver, accounts payable processor), and any delegated authority documentation or internal approval chain tied to the spending[;] [5] All email correspondence, memoranda, text messages, chat logs, calendar entries, and attachments that discuss, approve, authorize, justify, or relate to each expenditure (for all transactions, regardless of dollar amount)…[;] [6] Metadata and system exports: native/system exports from financial and email systems (e.g., MUNIS exports, CSV/XLS/XLSX exports, database exports) that preserve transactional identifiers, timestamps, and links between records[;] [7] Records that are recorded as voided or reversed — produce them with notation indicating reversal rather than omitting them. The Town responded on October 27, 2025. Unsatisfied with the Town’s response, Mr. Lindenboim petitioned this office and this appeal, SPR25/3275, 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. 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.

Ben Kaufman SPR25/3461 Page 3 November 26, 2025 The Town’s October 27th Response In its October 27, 2025 response, the Town assigned the request reference number 2025- 0417 and stated, “[t]his record is being assigned to appropriate department. The department reviewer will review the request and create an effort estimate to create the response.” Current Appeal In his appeal petition, Mr. Lindenboim indicated that he has not received a further response to his request. 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. Lindenboim’s request was submitted on October 27, 2025, and the Town has not provided responsive records, nor cited an exemption for withholding records, I find the Department has not met its burden in responding to the request in accordance with G. L. c. 66, § 10(b)(vi). Accordingly, I find the Town must provide an estimated date as to when it expects to complete its review and provide the requested records. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(a) (records must be provided without unreasonable delay). To the extent possible, the Town must provide responsive records on a rolling basis. Conclusion Accordingly, the Town is ordered to provide Mr. Lindenboim 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. Lindenboim may appeal the substantive nature of the Department’s response within ninety (90) days. See 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1).

Ben Kaufman SPR25/3461 Page 4 November 26, 2025 Sincerely, Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records cc: Avi Lindenboim Joe Callanan, Esq.