Brown, Todd v. Westwood, Town of - Clerk's Office (SPR 20140593)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Shawn A Williams Supervisor ofR ecords December 12, 2014 SPR14/593 Ms. Joan Courtney Murray Interim Human Resources Director Town of Westwood 580 High Street Westwood, MA 02090 Dear Ms. Murray: I have received the petition of Todd Brown appealing the response of the Town of Westwood (Town) to his request for public records. G. L. c. 66 § 10(b); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(2). Specifically, Mr. Brown, on behalf of the Massachusetts Independent Pharmacists Association, requested copies of records related to "prescription benefits fulfillment." Having received no response, Mr. Brown petitioned this office. The Public Records Law strongly favors disclosure by creating a presumption that all governmental records are public records. G. L. c. 66, § 10(c); 950 C.M.R. 32.08(4). "Public records" is broadly defined to include all documentary materials or data, regardless of physical form or characteristics, made or received by any officer or employee of any town of the Commonwealth, unless falling within a statutory exemption. G. L. c. 4, § 7(26). It is the burden of the records custodian to demonstrate the application of an exemption in order to withhold a requested record. G. L. c. 66, § 10 ( c); see also District Attorney for the Norfolk Dist. v. Flatley, 419 Mass. 507, 511 (1995) (custodian has the burden of establishing the applicability of an exemption). Under the Public Records Law and the Access Regulations (Regulations) all requests for public records must be met with a response within ten (1 0) days of the request. G. L. c. 66, § 1O (b ); 950 C.M.R. 32.05. The response may be an offer to provide records, a fee estimate for provision of the records, or a denial. The Department is advised that all records custodians must comply with both the Public Records Law and the Regulations with respect to the timeliness of response. OneAshburton Place, Room 1719, Boston, Massachusetts 02108 · (617) 727-2832. Fax (617) 727-5914 www.sec.state.ma. us/ pre

Ms. Joan Courtney Murray SPR14/593 Page Two December 12, 2014 Despite contact by members of my staff the Town has failed to comply with its burden of timeliness in responding to Mr. Brown's request for records. Accordingly, the Town is hereby ordered, within ten (1 0) days, to provide Mr. Brown with the requested records. If the Town maintains that any portion of the responsive records are exempt from disclosure it must, within ten ( 10 ) days provide to Mr. Brown a written explanation, with specificity, how a particular exemption applies to each record. See G. L. c. 66, § 10 ( c) (emphasis added). See also Globe Newspaper Co. v. Police Comm'r, 419 Mass. 852, 857 (1995). . I n A. Williams Supervisor of Records cc: Mr. Todd Brown