Wetherell, Kimberly v. Peru, Town of (SPR 20140127)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Shawn A. Williams Supervisor ofR ecords March 10, 2014 SPR14/127 Ms. Kimberly Wetherell 10 South Road Peru, MA 01235 Dear Ms. Wetherell: I have received your petition appealing the response of the Town of Peru (Town) to your request for records. G. L. c. 66 § 10(b); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(2). Specifically, you requested copies of: 1. Invoices for the weekly warrant presented to the Board of Selectmen (Board) for approval on November 12, 2013; and 2. Documents from the Fire Department and Police Department submitted at the December 16, 2013 Board meeting. With respect to Request# 1 the in a letter dated January 31, 2014 Town ClerkS. Christine Richards inforn1ed you that there were no invoices or warrants presented at the November 12, 2013 meeting, therefore no responsive records exist. With respect to Request# 2, a January 28, 2014letter to you from Board Chairn1an Douglas A. Haskins explained that the sole responsive record "is a preliminary list of items which may possibly be of future interest to the Town for police and fire protection." It is my understanding that a copy of this record was provided to you. There is a presumption that all government employees perform their duties in an honest and impartial manner. LaPointe v. License Bd. ofWorcester, 389 Mass. 454, 459 (1983) see also Konover Mgt. Corp v. Planning Bd. of Auburn, 32 Mass. App. Ct. 319, 326 (1992). Furthermore, it is the duty of a record custodian to use his superior knowledge of the records to assist a requester in obtaining records. 950 C.M.R. 32.05(4). I accept that the Town Clerk and the Board understood your requests and responded with the best of their knowledge. OneAshburton Place, Room 1719, Boston, Massachusetts 02108 · (617) 727-2832. Fax (617) 727-5914 www.sec.state.ma. us/pre

Ms. Kimberly Wetherell SPR14/127 Page Two March 10, 2014 Whereas there are no records responsive to Request# 1 and further whereas the sole record responsive to Request # 2 has been provided, I will consider this administrative appeal closed. Supervisor of Records cc: Ms. S. Christine Richards