Transparency, Commonwealth v. Malden, City of (SPR 20261106)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records March 30, 2026 SPR26/1106 Joanne Perperian Records Access Officer City of Malden 215 Pleasant Street Malden, MA 02148 Dear Ms. Perperian: I have received the petition of Bruce Friedman, of OpenCommonwealth, appealing the response of the City of Malden (City) to a request for public records. See G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). On March 9, 2026, Mr. Friedman requested: …any documents/records in the possession or under the control of your town/city/municipality/school district which contain the following data: • All monies expended on motor vehicle crashes involving Malden vehicles and/or employees in [an identified] spreadsheet. This includes but is not limited to any repairs made to any vehicle(s) or property, settlements, attorneys’ fees, medical payments, or any other monies expended… The City initially responded on March 19, 2026, providing a fee estimate. Subsequently on March 19, 2026, Mr. Friedman modified his request as follows: Per your estimate, please provide only the 30 files you have identified, regardless if they are responsive or not. Please state with specificity regarding the 30 records located the specific exemption that require segregation and potential redaction. Previous Petition Mr. Friedman’s initial request was the subject of a previous petition from the City. See SPR26/0993 Determination of the Supervisor of Records (March 20, 2026). In my March 20th determination, I found it unnecessary to opine on the City’s petition for an extension of time and permission to charge for time spent segregating or redacting responsive records in light of Mr. Friedman modifying his request. The City responded to the modified request on March 26, 2026. 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 SPR26/1106 Page 2 March 30, 2026 Unsatisfied with the City’s response, Mr. Friedman petitioned this office and this appeal, SPR26/1106, was opened as a result. Subsequent to the opening of this appeal, I learned that the City provided a further response on March 30, 2026. Where this appeal was opened based on the City’s March 26, 2026 response, I will now consider this administrative appeal closed. If unresolved issues remain, Mr. Friedman may appeal the substantive nature of the City’s March 30th response within ninety (90) days. See 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Sincerely, Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records cc: Bruce Friedman