In preparation for the parking tickets story, I have submitted the following request for public records to the City:

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to Jaclyn Rossetti <JRossetti(at)somervillema.gov>
cc Thomas Champion <TChampion(at)somervillema.gov>
date Tue, Aug 25, 2009 at 10:10 AM
subject Public Records Request : Parking Officer Data

Dear Public Information Officer Jackie Rossetti, (cc Thomas Champion, Exec Dir of Communications)

In the public interest and per MA public records law M.G.L. Chapter 66: Section 10, which states that

“A custodian of a public record shall, within ten days following receipt of a request for inspection or copy of a public record, comply with such request.”

( Today being Aug 25, the tenth calendar day afterwards appears to be Sep 4 )

Please provide, in electronic format, records of parking enforcement officers from the City of Somerville dating back as far as Jan 1, 2000 or as early as your records were kept if they do not go back that far, including the following details for each officer:

* Budgeted Cost Per Officer (salary, benefits, and other expenses)

* Enforcement Area

* Rotation Schedule

* Total amount of fines issued per year broken down by type of ticket

* All other recorded details in the same system that do not reveal personal identity are requested.

This request specifically excludes any personally identifying information (such as name, home address, phone), so that no redaction reviews are anticipated. If redaction reviews are deemed necessary, please notify me of that necessity promptly with an indication about which fields would need to be reviewed.

I wish to receive this data through email or a linked file on a server that can be downloaded. The file(s) may be in a compressed format for faster transmission.

I also request a copy of the standard employment contract for ticket officers (to see if they are incentivized to write more tickets)

This request is made in the public interest because parking tickets affect residents across the city. For this reason, I ask that any fees be waived. If fees must still be charged, please seek permission from me before retrieving the data.

If any requested records are not available or not able to be retrieved within 10 days, please promptly provide the relevant explanations about such problems and proposed remedies before day ten.

Your earliest acknowledgment of your receipt of this message and any estimate on progress will be greatly appreciated!

Thank you very much for your help!

Sincerely,

Barry Rafkind

<street address>

Somerville, MA 02144