McCarter, Brian v. Boston, City of (SPR 20260841)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records March 12, 2026 SPR26/0841 Grace Jung Director of Public Records City of Boston 1 City Hall Square, Room 615 Boston, MA 02201 Dear Ms. Jung: I have received the petition of Brian McCarter 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 February 1, 2026, Mr. McCarter requested: [1] Chapter 121A §6A Contract Inventory (Current and Historical) A complete list, index, or database export of all entities that are or have been parties to a contract with the City of Boston under M.G.L. c. 121A, §6A, including at minimum:  Legal entity name  Associated parcel ID(s) / assessing account number(s)  Commencement date  Termination or cease date (if applicable)  Status (active / expired / transferred) Administrative necessity: This inventory is required for reconciliation with the Massachusetts Department of Revenue, Bureau of Local Assessment 121A Project List (Locality Code 0035), which the City must verify for excise and distribution purposes. [2] Annual January 15 Property Inventory Filings (Reporting Years 2023–2024) Copies of all annual property acquisition lists, inventories, or equivalent submissions filed by Chapter 121A corporations with the Assessing Department pursuant to standard §6A contract terms requiring reporting by January 15 of each 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 SPR26/0841 Page 2 March 12, 2026 year. This includes, but is not limited to, submissions required under provisions analogous to Section 18D of the Dudley Neighbors 1990 §6A Agreement. [3] Chapter 121B / Urban Renewal / PILOT Agreement Index A complete list or index of all active and inactive agreements executed under M.G.L. c. 121B, including:  and Disposition Agreements (LDAs) [sic]  Cooperation Agreements  PILOT / “Tax Agreement” instruments For each agreement, please include:  Agreement title  Executing entity  Parcel ID(s)  Urban Renewal Area (if applicable)  Effective date and expiration date This request includes the full underlying dataset from which the City’s partial online disclosures (e.g., agreements posted on the Boston.gov “Tax Agreements” page) were derived. [4] Urban Renewal Plan Expiration and Parcel Tracking Schedule Any schedule, table, database, or inventory used by BPDA to track:  Urban Renewal Plan expiration dates  Parcels subject to 121A and/or 121B authority within each plan This includes records used to manage plan expiration, extension, or transition to underlying zoning authority. [5] Assessing Database Query Output (If No Stand-Alone List Exists) If the records above are not maintained as a single consolidated document, please produce the results of a database query from the Assessing Department’s CAMA system (e.g., iasWorld or equivalent) showing all parcels or accounts flagged with tax classification codes corresponding to:  Chapter 121A  Chapter 121B  PILOT / Tax Agreement status[.] The City responded on February 27, 2026. Unsatisfied with the City’s response, Mr. McCarter petitioned this office and this appeal, SPR26/0841, was opened as a result.

Grace Jung SPR26/0841 Page 3 March 12, 2026 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. The City’s February 27th Response On February 27, 2026, the City stated, “[i]f you have any questions, or if you need help getting records from the City of Boston, contact publicrecords@boston.gov[.]” 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. McCarter submitted his request on February 1st, and the City has not provided

Grace Jung SPR26/0841 Page 4 March 12, 2026 responsive records, nor cited an exemption for withholding 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 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. McCarter 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. McCarter may further 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: Brian McCarter