Berkshire CC Vendor Expenses, FY15-FY24

AJ Vincelli filed this request with the Berkshire Community College of Massachusetts.
Submitted Aug. 11, 2024
Due Sept. 6, 2024
Est. Completion None
Status
Awaiting Response

From: AJ Vincelli

Subject: Massachusetts Public Records Law Request: Berkshire CC Vendor Expenses, FY15-FY24

Email

Hello,

Pursuant to the Massachusetts Public Records Law, I am hereby submitting a Public Records Request for all money given from Berkshire Community College to external vendors/suppliers in FY2015 through (and including) FY2024, a total of 10 years.

Specifically, the data I am requesting include (but are not limited to):
* all vendors, suppliers, individuals, and public-private partnerships
* all materials, goods, services, properties, commodities, equipment leases, property leases, and licenses
* all catalog orders, non-catalog orders, blanket orders, direct payments, bank card purchases, strategic sourcing, and competitive procurements
* all auxiliary services purchases (starts in 2022, may be from a different accounting system)
* all purchase orders, requisitions, and invoices
* all products, goods, services, contracts, and subcontracts
* all accounts, classes, commodities, and departments
* regardless of the funding source

I’m requesting the data in a single Excel spreadsheet file (.xlsx format) with at least the following columns:
* Amount
* Supplier/Vendor Name
* Account Description
* Commodity Description
* Fiscal Year
* Department/Origin Description

Please report every expense, even if one or more of the above fields is blank. Please also include negative expense amounts, which is rare but does occur.

In case it’s helpful, I've attached an image example of what I’m hoping to receive. The columns may be in any order, and the fiscal years may be on one sheet or different sheets. The columns can be sorted in any order, or unsorted if that’s easiest.

I’m anticipating that this request may be fulfilled by a simple financial report generation and export of the generated file, and therefore shouldn’t take much human time or incur any fees. Please let me know immediately if this isn’t the case, so I can modify my request as necessary to meet the PRL deadline of 10 business days.

Please email the Excel file by the deadline of Monday August 26th, 2024.

Thank you very much!

Sincerely,

AJ Vincelli
Graduate Student Union at UMass Dartmouth

From: AJ Vincelli

Subject: RE: Massachusetts Public Records Law Request: Berkshire CC Vendor Expenses, FY15-FY24

Email

Hello,

I'm following up on this FOIA request? I haven't heard back yet.

Thanks,

AJ Vincelli

From: AJ Vincelli

Subject: RE: Massachusetts Public Records Law Request: Berkshire CC Vendor Expenses, FY15-FY24

Email

Hello,

I'm following up on this FOIA request? I haven't heard back yet.

I saw "sgrady@berkshirecc.edu" at the bottom of this webpage: https://www.berkshirecc.edu/about-bcc/public-records-and-disclosures/

However, "mmellace@berkshirecc.edu" is listed on that same webpage, at the top right. I'm not sure which email address is correct?

Thanks,

AJ Vincelli

From: Berkshire Community College

Subject: RE: Massachusetts Public Records Law Request: Berkshire CC Vendor Expenses, FY15-FY24

Email

Hi Al,

I apologize that your request has not been responded to as of yet. Ownership of FOIA requests transitioned from Sean to myself a couple of months ago.

Let me look through Sean’s files to see what I can find.

Could you please respond to this email confirming that you received it? The email address I’m replying to is different that I’ve seen before, so I want to make sure you get this message.

Best,
Michelle

Michelle A. Mellace
Administration & Finance Division Manager
Berkshire Community College
1350 West Street
Pittsfield, MA 01201
O – 413-236-3002
mmellace@berkshirecc.edu<mailto:mmellace@berkshirecc.edu>
Pronouns: she/her<https://www.mypronouns.org/>

Follow us:
[signature_520249398]<https://www.berkshirecc.edu/> [signature_1679600460] <https://www.facebook.com/berkshirecc> [signature_1935768156] <https://www.instagram.com/berkshirecc/> [signature_1137224278] <https://www.twitter.com/berkshirecc/>

From: AJ Vincelli

Subject: RE: Massachusetts Public Records Law Request: Berkshire CC Vendor Expenses, FY15-FY24

Email

Hi Michelle,

Thank you for looking into this. The email address is different because I'm using the MuckRock service to submit and track the FOIA request:
https://www.muckrock.com/foi/massachusetts-1/berkshire-cc-vendor-expenses-fy15-fy24-171637/

Thanks very much,

AJ Vincelli

From: Berkshire Community College

Subject: RE: Massachusetts Public Records Law Request: Berkshire CC Vendor Expenses, FY15-FY24

Email

Thanks Al!

I’ve reached out to our Accountant. She is going to work with our Comptroller to determine the best way to pull the records you’re looking for and how long it will take. I’ll get back to you ASAP, and again, I apologize that this request got lost in the transition from Sean to myself.

Best,
Michelle

Michelle A. Mellace
Administration & Finance Division Manager
Berkshire Community College
1350 West Street
Pittsfield, MA 01201
O – 413-236-3002
mmellace@berkshirecc.edu<mailto:mmellace@berkshirecc.edu>
Pronouns: she/her<https://www.mypronouns.org/>

Follow us:
[signature_520249398]<https://www.berkshirecc.edu/> [signature_1679600460] <https://www.facebook.com/berkshirecc> [signature_1935768156] <https://www.instagram.com/berkshirecc/> [signature_1137224278] <https://www.twitter.com/berkshirecc/>

From: AJ Vincelli

Subject: RE: Massachusetts Public Records Law Request: Berkshire CC Vendor Expenses, FY15-FY24

Email

Thank you! I appreciate it.

AJ Vincelli

From: Berkshire Community College

Subject: RE: Massachusetts Public Records Law Request: Berkshire CC Vendor Expenses, FY15-FY24

Email

Hi AJ,

Our Accountant is working on trying to determine the most efficient way to provide you the information you’ve requested. Have you requested this same information from any other Massachusetts Community Colleges, and if so, could you provide a snipet of the report they submitted (we are especially interested in any colleges that use Colleague for financial tracking). This will make it much easier for us to provide you the requested data.

Thanks,
Michelle

Michelle A. Mellace
Administration & Finance Division Manager
Berkshire Community College
1350 West Street
Pittsfield, MA 01201
O – 413-236-3002
mmellace@berkshirecc.edu<mailto:mmellace@berkshirecc.edu>
Pronouns: she/her<https://www.mypronouns.org/>

Follow us:
[signature_520249398]<https://www.berkshirecc.edu/> [signature_1679600460] <https://www.facebook.com/berkshirecc> [signature_1935768156] <https://www.instagram.com/berkshirecc/> [signature_1137224278] <https://www.twitter.com/berkshirecc/>

From: Berkshire Community College

Subject: RE: Massachusetts Public Records Law Request: Berkshire CC Vendor Expenses, FY15-FY24

Email

Hi Al,

Would you happen to have an example of a report similar to your request below that you’ve received from another Massachusetts Community College?

Thanks,
Michelle

Michelle A. Mellace
Administration & Finance Division Manager
Berkshire Community College
1350 West Street
Pittsfield, MA 01201
O – 413-236-3002
mmellace@berkshirecc.edu<mailto:mmellace@berkshirecc.edu>
Pronouns: she/her<https://www.mypronouns.org/>

Follow us:
[signature_520249398]<https://www.berkshirecc.edu/> [signature_1679600460] <https://www.facebook.com/berkshirecc> [signature_1935768156] <https://www.instagram.com/berkshirecc/> [signature_1137224278] <https://www.twitter.com/berkshirecc/>

From: AJ Vincelli

Subject: RE: Massachusetts Public Records Law Request: Berkshire CC Vendor Expenses, FY15-FY24

Email

Hi Michelle,

Yes, we've asked all MA community colleges for these same data. I'm not sure which of them use Colleague, but here are their responses so far:

Cape Cod CC: https://www.muckrock.com/foi/massachusetts-1/cape-cod-cc-vendor-expenses-fy15-fy24-171645/
MassBay CC: https://www.muckrock.com/foi/framingham-105/massbay-cc-vendor-expenses-fy15-fy24-171633/
Middlesex CC: https://www.muckrock.com/foi/massachusetts-1/middlesex-cc-vendor-expenses-fy15-fy24-171643/
Northern Essex CC: https://www.muckrock.com/foi/massachusetts-1/northern-essex-cc-vendor-expenses-fy15-fy24-171644/
Springfield Tech CC: https://www.muckrock.com/foi/massachusetts-1/springfield-tech-cc-vendor-expenses-fy15-fy24-171624/

Does this help at all?

Thanks,

AJ Vincelli

From: Berkshire Community College

Subject: RE: Massachusetts Public Records Law Request: Berkshire CC Vendor Expenses, FY15-FY24

Email

Thanks so much AJ! I’ve forwarded this on to our Director of Accounting. Once she reviews the other responses she’ll have a better idea as to the best way to provide you our information.

Best,
Michelle

Michelle A. Mellace
Administration & Finance Division Manager
Berkshire Community College
1350 West Street
Pittsfield, MA 01201
O – 413-236-3002
mmellace@berkshirecc.edu<mailto:mmellace@berkshirecc.edu>
Pronouns: she/her<https://www.mypronouns.org/>

Follow us:
[signature_520249398]<https://www.berkshirecc.edu/> [signature_1679600460] <https://www.facebook.com/berkshirecc> [signature_1935768156] <https://www.instagram.com/berkshirecc/> [signature_1137224278] <https://www.twitter.com/berkshirecc/>

From: AJ Vincelli

Subject: RE: Massachusetts Public Records Law Request: Berkshire CC Vendor Expenses, FY15-FY24

Email

Thanks very much! Happy holidays to you.

AJ