Herman, Colman v. Worcester, City of - Office of the District Attorney (SPR 20260872)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records March 23, 2026 SPR26/0872 Mark Relation, Esq. Records Access Officer Worcester County District Attorney’s Office 225 Main Street, G301 Worcester, MA 01608 Dear Attorney Relation: I have received the petition of Colman Herman appealing the response of the Worcester County District Attorney’s Office (Office) to a request for public records. See G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). On January 3, 2026, Mr. Herman requested the following: [1] Records of any and all expenses that [an identified individual] incurred in his capacity of Worcester County district attorney for the period January 1, 2025 to December 31, 2025. This includes, but is not limited to the following[:] [a] Expense reports, including back-up receipts[;] [b] Credit cards statements, including back-up receipts[;] [c] Automobile expense records, including back-up receipts[;] [d] Any and all other records that document [an identified individual’s] expenses, including back-up receipts[;] Please note that I am seeking both source documents and a spreadsheet or summary of the expenses. [2] The written employee reimbursement policy of the Worcester County district attorney’s office[.] Previous Appeal This request was the subject of a previous appeal. See SPR26/0266 Determination of the Supervisor of Records (February 6, 2026). In my February 6th determination, I ordered the Office to provide Mr. Herman with a response to his request. Subsequently, the Office responded on February 9, 2026 and March 10, 2026. Unsatisfied with the Office’s responses, Mr. Herman 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

Mark Relation, Esq. SPR26/0872 Page 2 March 23, 2026 petitioned this office and this appeal, SPR26/0872, 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. The Office’s February 9th and March 11th Responses In its February 9, 2026 response, a representative of the Office stated the following: Please know that we have been working on your request since we received it . . . and we are doing everything we can to provide you with all responsive records within our possession as soon as possible. . . . We will provide you with all responsive records as soon as we are able, but if we are unable to do so by the 23rd we may require additional time. . . . In its March 11, 2026 response, an Office representative stated, “at this time I am still working on [the] request. I am asking for an additional 10 business days to complete our response and provide . . . [the] requested records. . . .” The Office representative further noted that they would “send [Mr. Herman] [its] response as soon as it is available.” Current Appeal In his March 11, 2026 appeal petition, Mr. Herman contends that the “responsive records were due by January 20, 2026” and requests that the Supervisor “order the [O]ffice . . . to produce the responsive records.

Mark Relation, Esq. SPR26/0872 Page 3 March 23, 2026 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. Herman submitted his request on January 3, 2026, and the Office has not provided the responsive records, nor cited an exemption for withholding records, I find that the Office has not met its burden in responding to the request in accordance with G. L c. 66, § 10(b)(vi). Consequently, the Office 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). Conclusion Accordingly, the Office is ordered to provide Mr. Herman with a response to his 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. Herman may appeal the substantive nature of the Office’s response within ninety (90) days. See 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Sincerely, Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records cc: Coleman Herman