Request #2019-0038 (Methuen, MA - Administration & Finance)

Request for public records made to City of Methuen by Keith Eddings.

Agency
City of Methuen
Summary
Feb. 25, 2019 Re: SPR 2019-0123 Eddings/Methuen Dear Capt. Gallant, Thank you for your Feb. 7 response to my request for records indicating the full compensation Police Chief Joseph Solomn is scheduled to receive in 2019, and for records indicating the payments the department made to Chief Solomon or on his behalf to cover his expenses to attend seminars, conferences and professional development events in 2018. I believe the response fell short of what the state directed. While it provides details of the separate tasks that would be needed to provide the records sought, it provides no estimate of the cost of each task. Overall, your response indicates that the $450.50 cost of providing records showing the payments made to cover Chief Solomon's expenses would be to: 1.             search each city warrant to determine pay out to Chief Solomon; 2.        organize the expenditures to determine which meet the criteria of my request; 3.        check each seminar or training with training calendars and the chief's calendar to determine if the chief was assigned to those particular trainings or seminars; 4.        do the same for bills for transportation, accommodation, tuition, fees and meals. I am amending my request. Under the Public Records Law, I now request that the department provide records of all expenses for which it reimbursed Chief Solomon in 2018, regardless of the purpose. This will eliminate the second, third and fourth tasks you say will be needed to respond to my request, which I expect will reduce the charges considerably and allow for a very timely response. If the department has issued Chief Solomon credit cards to allow him to charge expenses related to his duties, I request copies of all receipts for charges he placed on the card since Jan. 1, 2018. Thank you for responding to this amended request within the deadline set by law. I understand you have asked the city auditor to respond to my request for records that would indicate the salary and all other compensation Chief Solomon is scheduled to receive in 2019. I will be in touch with the department asking them to estimate the cost of providing the records. As required, I am copying this request to the Public Records Division of the Secretary of State. Sincerely, Keith Eddings Keith Eddings The Eagle-Tribune 978-946-2232 fax: 978-687-6045 Resending
Request Date
2019-02-26
Agency Tracking
2019-0038
Acquisition Notes
This record was automatically imported from https://www.townforms.com/FOIADirect-MethuenMACitizens/
Status
Fulfilled
Requester
Keith Eddings
Documents
Original Source

This record is part of the StateReference Public Records Requests collection. This is a public records request to a state agency or municipality.

This record was originally posted at https://www.townforms.com/FOIADirect-MethuenMACitizens/.

Please note: We applied optical character recognition (OCR) to this document in order to make the text searchable. Learn More.
/items/pr_requests/methuenmacitizens-2019-0038/attachments/Chief%20Reimbursements%20Calendar%202018.pdf?which=ocr_file

Request #2019-0038 (Methuen, MA - Administration & Finance)

Request for public records made to City of Methuen by Keith Eddings.

Agency
City of Methuen
Summary
Feb. 25, 2019 Re: SPR 2019-0123 Eddings/Methuen Dear Capt. Gallant, Thank you for your Feb. 7 response to my request for records indicating the full compensation Police Chief Joseph Solomn is scheduled to receive in 2019, and for records indicating the payments the department made to Chief Solomon or on his behalf to cover his expenses to attend seminars, conferences and professional development events in 2018. I believe the response fell short of what the state directed. While it provides details of the separate tasks that would be needed to provide the records sought, it provides no estimate of the cost of each task. Overall, your response indicates that the $450.50 cost of providing records showing the payments made to cover Chief Solomon's expenses would be to: 1.             search each city warrant to determine pay out to Chief Solomon; 2.        organize the expenditures to determine which meet the criteria of my request; 3.        check each seminar or training with training calendars and the chief's calendar to determine if the chief was assigned to those particular trainings or seminars; 4.        do the same for bills for transportation, accommodation, tuition, fees and meals. I am amending my request. Under the Public Records Law, I now request that the department provide records of all expenses for which it reimbursed Chief Solomon in 2018, regardless of the purpose. This will eliminate the second, third and fourth tasks you say will be needed to respond to my request, which I expect will reduce the charges considerably and allow for a very timely response. If the department has issued Chief Solomon credit cards to allow him to charge expenses related to his duties, I request copies of all receipts for charges he placed on the card since Jan. 1, 2018. Thank you for responding to this amended request within the deadline set by law. I understand you have asked the city auditor to respond to my request for records that would indicate the salary and all other compensation Chief Solomon is scheduled to receive in 2019. I will be in touch with the department asking them to estimate the cost of providing the records. As required, I am copying this request to the Public Records Division of the Secretary of State. Sincerely, Keith Eddings Keith Eddings The Eagle-Tribune 978-946-2232 fax: 978-687-6045 Resending
Request Date
2019-02-26
Agency Tracking
2019-0038
Acquisition Notes
This record was automatically imported from https://www.townforms.com/FOIADirect-MethuenMACitizens/
Status
Fulfilled
Requester
Keith Eddings
Documents
Original Source

This record is part of the StateReference Public Records Requests collection. This is a public records request to a state agency or municipality.

This record was originally posted at https://www.townforms.com/FOIADirect-MethuenMACitizens/.