Mazurczyk, Stanley v. Chelmsford, Town of - Police Department (SPR 20150271)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Shawn A Williams Supervisor ofR ecords May 18, 2015 SPRlS/271 Lieutenant Collin C. Spence Town of Chelmsford Police Department 2 Olde North Road Chelmsford, MA 01824 Dear Lieutenant Spence: I have received the petition of Stanley Mazurczyk appealing the response of the Town of Chelmsford (Town) Police Department (Department) to his request for public records. G. L. c. 66 § 10(b); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(2). Specifically, Mr. Mazurczyk requested a copy of the Town's policy on the Town's acceptable payment instruments for services it renders and copies of documentation for stop payment occurrences he has made in the past. In addition Mr. Mazurczyk requested a copy of any record detailing the hourly rate of the lowest paid Department employee qualified to respond to public records requests. As of the date he filed his petition with my office Mr. Mazurczyk had not received a response to his requests 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 (10) 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 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. I find the Department has failed to properly respond to a request for public records. Accordingly, the Town is hereby ordered, within ten (1 0) days, to review the requests made by Mr. Mazurczyk and provide to him a written response, made in 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. OneAshburton Place, Room 1719, Boston, Massachusetts 02108 · (617) 727-2832. Fax (617) 727-5914 www.sec.state.ma. us/ pre

Lieutenant Collin C. Spence SPR15/271 Page Two May 18, 2015 This administrative appeal is now closed. Enclosure: A Guide to the Massachusetts Public Records Law cc: Mr. Stanley Mazurczyk