Wadsworth, Robin v. Peru, Town of (SPR 20150252)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Shawn A. Williams Supervisor ofR ecords May 14,2015 SPR15/252 Mr. Craig Kleman Town Administrator Town of Peru Massachusetts 7 E Main Road Peru, MA 01235 Dear Mr. Kleman: I have received the petition ofRobin Wadsworth appealing the response of Town of Peru (Town) to her request for public records. G. L. c. 66 § 1O (b ); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(2). Specifically, Ms. Wadsworth requested copies correspondence associated with a "letter of the Inspector General" related to a June 16, 2014 meeting of the Town's Board of Selectmen. Ms. Wadsworth also requested copies of Town Financial Statement Reports for FY 2012 and FY 2014. As of the date of her petition to my office the Town had yet to provide a written response to this request for records. 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). 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, § IO(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 Town is advised that all records custodians must comply with both the Public Records Law and the Regulations with respect to the timeliness of response. The Town did respond to Ms. Wadsworth's request for public records, in a letter dated March 2, 2015. I find, however, that the Town failed to properly respond to a request for public records in a timely manner. Further, while the Town did respond, it did not provide the records Ms. Wadsworth requested. Accordingly, the Town is hereby ordered, within ten (10) days, to review the requests made by Ms. Wadsworth and provide to her a written response, made in OneAshburton Place, Room 1719, Boston, Massachusetts 02108 · (617) 727-2832. Fax (617) 727-5914 www.sec.state.ma. us/pre

Mr. Craig Kleman SPR15/252 Page Two May 14,2015 accordance with the Public Records Law, its Access Regulations and this order. A copy of our publication, A Guide to the Massachusetts Public Records Law will be provided for your reference. - In addition, Ms. Wadsworth's request for public records included questions posed to the Town regarding how it operates its open meetings and determines the content of its meeting minutes. Please be advised that the Open Meeting Law is enforced by the Office of the Attorney General, Division of Open Government. Any questions regarding the content of minutes, requirements to keep minutes or any procedural aspects of the Open Meeting Law should be addressed to the Division of Open Government. Accordingly, I will forward a copy of this order to the Division of Open Government in the Office of the Attorney Ge ral for its review. This administrative appeal is now closed. ·Iiams Supervisor of Records Enclosure: A Guide to the Massachusetts Public Records Law cc: Ms. Robin Wadsworth Division of Open Government