Guidelines for Public Records Requests

The City of New Bedford has developed these guidelines to help members of the public who are seeking access to public records in the custody of the City of New Bedford to make informed requests for public records as well as to assist the Records Access Officers (RAOs) in fulfilling those requests.

Requests for public records may be made in person or in writing. Written requests can be made by hand, mail, email or fax.  Telephone requests may be accepted at the discretion of the Records Access Officer.

Requests for records should be directed to the appropriate Records Access Officer who serves as the custodian of the requested records. The City of New Bedford has designated Records Access Officers in each city department (listed below) who are responsible for coordinating their departments’ responses to public records requests. If you would like to make a public records request, please contact the Records Access Officer in the city department from which you would like to request public records. If you are not sure which department has the public records you are seeking, please contact:

Any public record request submitted after the City’s regular business hours (after 4:00 PM) shall be deemed to have been received the next business day for tolling purposes. Once your request has been received by the RAO, he or she must provide a response to your request within 10 business days. (business days are Monday through Friday and do not include Saturdays, Sundays or legal holidays)

A RAO’s response may include:
• Producing the requested record(s);
• Outlining what will be withheld or redacted because a specific statutory exemption may apply to the requested records permitting or requiring the records to be withheld in whole or in part;
• Identifying records being produced or intended to be produced and (if applicable) a detailed explanation of the reason(s) for the inability to provide the information within the allotted timeframe. The RAO has a total of 25 Business Days to provide a full response to your request unless: The RAO appeals to the Supervisor of Records (Secretary of State) for good cause, or you the requestor, grant additional time to comply in writing.
• Asking for further clarification or suggesting a modification to your request if it can reduce time and cost;
• If fees are going to be charged, providing an itemized good-faith estimate.

Consider how you may narrow the scope of your request to expedite the production process. The first two hours of work performed to respond to a public records request will be performed at no cost. After that, the city may charge up to $25.00 per hour. The city may charge up to $0.05 for black and white paper copies and may charge the actual cost of electronic storage devices (i.e. dvds or memory sticks).

For additional information about making a request or filing an appeal, see Chapter 66 of Massachusetts General Laws and 950 CMR 32 and MA Public Records Law Guidelines.

Below is a list of categories of public records maintained by the city of New Bedford. Please note this list is not exhaustive. These records may be subject to redaction if they contain information that may not be disclosed by law, is exempt under the public records law or is subject to other legally applicable privileges. Where certain categories of records are maintained by a particular department, the appropriate department is indicated below in parenthesis.

Categories of public records generally maintained by the city:

Annual Budgets (Contact: CFO’s Office)
Audio/Video Recordings
Bid documents and procurement contracts (Contact: Purchasing)
Collective bargaining agreements (Contact: Solicitor’s Office)
Documents or correspondence obtained by or generated by a public body or public employee
E-mails
Employee information (name, title, salary) (Contact: Personnel Office)
Grants
Job postings and job descriptions (Contact: Personnel Office)
Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) (Contact: Solicitor’s Office)
Minutes of Open Meetings and Hearings
Notices of Open Meetings and Hearings
Permits (Contact: Inspectional Services for building permits; Fire Department for fire related permits; and Health Department for health related permits, etc.)
Public policies/procedures/regulations
Reports