Shelly Klein v. Southbridge, Town of (SPR 20253559)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records December 10, 2025 SPR25/3559 John Jovan Town Manager Town of Southbridge 41 Elm Street Southbridge, MA 01550 Dear Mr. Jovan: On December 3, 2025, this office received your petition on behalf of the Town of Southbridge (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 petitions to the requestor, Shelly Klein. G. L. c. 66, § 10(c); G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iv)(2). On November 18, 2025, November 20, 2025 and November 24, 2025, Ms. Klein submitted six separate public records requests. Request I On November 18, 2025, Ms. Klein requested financial policy information. It is my understanding that the Town assigned this request reference number 2025-0251. Request II On November 18, 2025, Ms. Klein requested “[a] copy of the year-end balance sheet, free cash checklist and year-end reporting checklist for FY2025.” It is my understanding that the Town assigned this request reference number 2025-0252. Request III On November 18, 2025, Ms. Klein requested “all supporting documents used by the Town Manager and Finance Department that supported the request to the Assessor’s office to raise taxes to the maximum tax levy, including but not limited to emails, financial statements, year over year comparisons and the dates, time and attendees of any meetings held to discuss the FY26 tax levy.” It is my understanding that the Town assigned this request reference number 2025-0255. 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

John Jovan SPR25/3559 Page 2 December 10, 2025 Request IV On November 20, 2025, Ms. Klein requested: [1] Total amount paid to Raybern Consulting between FY23 through FY26[;] [2] Total amount paid to SHI between FY23 through FY26[;] [3] Total amount paid to Invoice Cloud between FY23 through FY26[;] [4] Total amount paid to Link Computer Corporation (possible not DBA Neptune) between FY23 through FY26[;] [5] [A]ny other vendor names and amounts that relate to the Muni-Link implementation[;] [6] Is the implementation ongoing? If so, what is the estimated date that the migration for Water, Sewer and Curbside will be complete?[;] [7] If the implementation has not been completed and there is no estimated date of completion please provide comments as to why[;] [8] If this project is not moving forward, provide the name of the person who made the final decision[;] [9] [I]nternal documents that communicate the reasons why the project has terminated[;] [10] What is the date that this decision was made? [11] [P]rovide copies of any and all communication to Raybern Consulting, Muni- Link, SHI, Link Computer, Invoice Cloud notifying them that the project is not moving forward[;] [12] [A]ny correspondence between the Town of Southbridge and these companies to renegotiate contractual agreements currently in place[.] It is my understanding that the Town assigned this request reference number 2025-0256. Request V On November 20, 2025, Ms. Klein requested: [1] The fully executed OpenGov End User License Agreement signed by both John Jovan and a representative from OpenGov, Inc[;] [2] [T]he fully executed OpenGov contract including schedules for the implementation timeline, deliverables, and fees[;] [3] Was this a new contract or did it replace an existing contract? [4] What is OpenGov used for? What departments/services does it facilitate?[;] It is my understanding that the Town assigned this request reference number 2025-0258.

John Jovan SPR25/3559 Page 3 December 10, 2025 Request VI On November 22, 2025, Ms. Klein requested “[u]pdated year-to-date budget for Curbside Enterprise showing all Journal Entry notes.” It is my understanding that the Town assigned this request reference number 2025-0259. In an email to the Town and this Office on December 4, 2025, Ms. Klein objected to the Town’s 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: (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 Town requests an extension of 30 business days and argues the following in support of its request:

John Jovan SPR25/3559 Page 4 December 10, 2025 We have received approximately 28 records requests over the past two months, and the Town has responded to them to the best of our ability. We have several that were received prior to the Holiday weekend in which she is requesting substantial information. In reviewing these, it has become apparent that an extension would be necessary, as both myself and the Finance Director/Treasurer- Collector were out on separate extended medical leave, and we both returned to the office this week. While my staff have done their best to put these materials together it has become apparent that our input in responding to these requests is vital to ensure that we are providing the records as requested. Furthermore, many of the requests are questions and not requests for a specific record and as such we are seeking legal advice as to how best to respond to the requests. In an email to Ms. Klein and this Office on December 3, 2025, the Town provided the following additional information: As a point of clarification and correction, the town has received approximately 28 requests from Ms. Klein, with approximately 12 being within the last two months. Regardless, we maintain our request for an extension to respond to FOIA items as noted in my attachment. In light of the capacity of the Town to produce the records without an extension as well as the efforts undertaken by the Town in fulfilling the current requests, 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 As described above, I find that the Town has established good cause for a time extension of 30 business days. Please note, Ms. Klein 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: Shelly Klein