MA settlement payments
| Submitted | April 3, 2017 |
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Communications
From: Todd Feathers
To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to the Massachusetts Public Records Law, M.G.L. c.66, ยง10, I hereby request the following records:
1) A copy of the list/database/spreadsheet the Comptroller of the Commonwealth uses to track settlement payments made on behalf of government agencies. This should include all data fields available in the list/database/spreadsheet, including but not limited to the date, agency, amount of settlement, and recipient of the payment.
I ask that all fees be waived as I am a journalist employed by the Lowell Sun and I intend to use the requested records to publish articles in the public interest and not for any commercial purposes.
In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.
Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 10 business days, as the statute requires.
Sincerely,
Todd Feathers
From: Childs, Sam (CTR)
Hi Caroline,
Could you please assist Mr. Feathers with his request?
Thank you,
Samuel Childs
Senior Help Desk Analyst
Office of the State Comptroller
Help Desk Phone: 617-973-2468
Ticket 164656
From: MuckRock.com
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on April 3, 2017. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Henriques, Caroline (CTR)
Your request is in the queue and will take more than 10 days.
Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or concerns.
Caroline Henriques
Public Information Requests
Office of the Comptroller
One Ashburton Place - 9th Floor
Boston, MA 02108
Phone: 617-973-2618
Fax: 617-727-2163
Email: Caroline.henriques@osc.state.ma.us<mailto:Caroline.henriques@osc.state.ma.us>
Public Records Request Email: CTR-PIR@MassMail.state.ma.us<mailto:CTR-PIR@MassMail.state.ma.us>
From: Childs, Sam (CTR)
Hi Caroline,
The below is a follow up email on the Todd Feather information request. Could you please assist him?
Thank you,
Samuel Childs
Senior Help Desk Analyst
Office of the State Comptroller
Help Desk Phone: 617-973-2468
Ticket 165130
From: Henriques, Caroline (CTR)
In response to your request please find the attached spreadsheet for all FY17 payments processed through the settlement and judgment account.
Caroline Henriques
Public Information Requests
Office of the Comptroller
One Ashburton Place - 9th Floor
Boston, MA 02108
Phone: 617-973-2618
Fax: 617-727-2163
Email: Caroline.henriques@osc.state.ma.us<mailto:Caroline.henriques@osc.state.ma.us>
Public Records Request Email: CTR-PIR@MassMail.state.ma.us<mailto:CTR-PIR@MassMail.state.ma.us>
From: Sheppard, Kathy (CTR)
Mr. Feathers:
We have reviewed your request and we are unclear about your question related to CTHRU and specifically what you are looking for. Based upon the Secretary of State Public Records Guide (http://www.sec.state.ma.us/pre/prepdf/guide.pdf) :
How should an RAO respond to an unclear request?
RAOs must help the requester to determine the precise record or records responsive to a request; however, a requester must provide a reasonable description of the requested records. If a request is unclear the RAO is expected to seek clarification from the requester.
We are seeking clarification of your request. We can not refer to an alternate website to figure out the description of your request. Could you please respond with a specific description of the records that you are seeking?
Request
I'm sending this at the request of your office, regarding a question I had about CTHRU and open checkbook records for district attorney asset forfeiture accounts.
I made the original request for the account balance sheets to the Treasurer's office, which maintains the accounts. The history of that request, including the responsive records, is documented here: https://www.muckrock.com/foi/massachusetts-1/ma-treasurer-asset-forfeiture-trust-funds-33081/<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.muckrock.com_foi_massachusetts-2D1_ma-2Dtreasurer-2Dasset-2Dforfeiture-2Dtrust-2Dfunds-2D33081_&d=DwMFaQ&c=lDF7oMaPKXpkYvev9V-fVahWL0QWnGCCAfCDz1Bns_w&r=RGeZS7VWFukjigwhvs_k1to30-sSwj1LuTDrn8g1blY&m=IPnROOllQ7vF-X6WqzdIq86HTiso7k-OAFHIubshaj0&s=UVj4vjDQYUssTJ7Oc77Ee0uCreSrlV6DSplktiSYOz4&e=>
Kathy Sheppard
Deputy Comptroller
Office of the Comptroller
Commonwealth of Massachusetts
One Ashburton Place - 9th Floor
Boston, Massachusetts 02108
Direct: 617.973.2666
Cell: 617.823.6969
Main: 617.727.5000
E-Mail: kathy.sheppard@state.ma.us<mailto:kathy.sheppard@state.ma.us>
Visit our Website: www.mass.gov/comptroller<http://www.mass.gov/comptroller>
This e-mail and its contents may contain confidential or privileged material and is intended solely for the use of the individual/company to whom it was addressed. If you received this in error, please notify me and delete the e-mail and any attachments. Thank you.
From: Todd Feathers
Kathy,
To be honest, I don't know why I was asked to submit my question through the public records portal either. I had been in touch with someone in public relations/media affairs (whose name I can't currently remember), and she asked me to submit my question through the portal.
I'm not requesting any records, so as far as I'm concerned you can consider this matter closed.
Todd