Public Records Requests | City of Worcester
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On June 3, 2016, Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker signed An Act to Improve Public Records into law, with most provisions taking effect January 1, 2017. The City of Worcester provides public records requests through a Public Records Portal and requires Records Access Officers to deliver records in electronic format within 10 business days, with provisions for extensions and administrative appeals through the Massachusetts Supervisor of Records. The city has designated Michael Manning (Law Department) and Lisa Poske (Worcester Retirement) as Records Access Officers and maintains an open data portal called "Informing Worcester" with commonly requested records including budgets, permits, incident reports, and property records.
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PUBLIC RECORDS REQUESTS On June 3, 2016 Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker signed An Act to Improve Public Records into law. Many of the provisions in the law take effect on January 1, 2017. You may submit your request to the City's RAO via our Public Records Portal for your convenience. Request a Public Record If you have a question or require assistance, please contact the City of Worcester Records Access Officer below: City of Worcester, MA Records Access Officer (RAO) Michael Manning Law Department 455 Main Street, Room 301 Worcester, MA 01608 RAO@worcesterma.gov For any Retirement Board/Office related request, please contact: Worcester Retirement Records Access Officer (RAO) Lisa Poske Worcester Retirement 455 Main Street, Room 103 Worcester, MA 01608 retirement@worcesterma.gov ELECTRONIC RECORDS Under the law, RAOs must provide public records to a requestor in an electronic format unless the record is not available in an electronic format or the requestor does not have the ability to receive or access the records in a useable electronic format. Please note: You can find Agendas & Minutes as well as Auditor Reports on the City of Worcester website. Many commonly requested records, including annual reports, agency budgets, permits, incident reports and more are already available on the our open data portal Informing Worcester. Informing Worcester Annual Budgets Capital Budgets Business Certificates Death Certificates Dog Licenses Fire Incident Data Inspectional Services Licenses, Permits and Certificates Marriage Certificates Open Checkbook Police Incident Data Property Records RESPONSE TIME Under the law, RAOs must permit inspection or furnish a copy of a requested public record within 10 business days following receipt of the request. RAOs may petition the Supervisor of Records for an extension if they are unable to grant access to the requested public records in this time period. ADMINISTRATIVE APPEALS Under the law, if a municipality fails to comply with a requirement of the law, the requestor may file an appeal with the Supervisor of Records who will then issue a determination on the public status of the records within 10 business days of receipt of the request for an appeal. The complete text of the law can be found online: An Act to Improve Public Records RESOURCES MA Public Records Division MA Statewide Records Retention Schedule
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