Bybee, Jane v. Weston, Town of - Town Clerk (SPR 20150766)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Shawn A. Williams Supervisor of& cords December 31, 2015 SPRlS/766 Ms. DonnaS. VanderClock Town Manager-Town of Weston Town Hall P.O. Box 378 Weston, MA 02493 Dear Ms. VanderClock: I have received the petition of Jane Bybee appealing the response of the Town of Weston (Town) to her request for public records. G. L. c. 66 § 10(b); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(2). Specifically, Ms. Bybee requested records pertaining to specifically identified properties in the Town. I understand Ms. Bybee narrowed this request to copies of communications to and from a specifically named individual. This narrowed request is the subject of this appeal. As of the date of Ms. Bybee's appeal she "not been provided with the 400+ emails" responsive to her request. In a conversation with an attorney on my staff, you explained that subsequent to the opening of this appeal, you provided Ms. Bybee with these emails. You also indicated that other responsive emails continue to be withheld pursuant Exemptions (c) and (d) of the Public Records law and the attorney-client privilege. With respect to the exemption claims, the Town is advised that "the burden shall be upon the custodian to prove with specificity the exemption which applies." G. L. c. 66, § lO(c) (emphasis added); see also Globe Newspaper Co. v. Police Comm'r, 419 Mass. 852, 857 (1995); see also Flatley, 419 Mass. at 511. The applicability of these exemptions and the common law attorney-client privilege is discussed in our publication, A Guide to the Massachusetts Public Records Law. A copy of this publication will be provided for your reference. What led to Ms. Bybee's request is her concern regarding the Town's maintenance of its records. The Town is advised that public records must be maintained and kept in a manner that allows access by the general public, as they are subject to mandatory disclosure upon request. G. L. c. 66, § 10(a); see also Reinstein v. Police Commissioner ofBoston, 378 Mass. 281, 289-90 (1979). Each municipal or governmental entity or agency shall have a designated "records custodian." OneAshburton Place, Room 1719, Boston, Massachusetts 02108 · (617) 727-2832 ·Fax (617) 727-5914 www.sec.state.ma. us/pre

Ms. Donna VanderClock SPR15/766 Page Three December 31, 2015 To assist the Town in properly organizing and retaining all of its records, I will refer this matter to this office's Records Management Unit. Senior Records and Information Manager Terry French will provide additional information to the Town regarding proper retention and maintenance of its records. It has come to my attention that the Town intends to provide a supplemental response to Ms. Bybee. Accordingly, I will consider this appeal closed with the proviso that, within ten (10) days, the Town provides Ms. Bybee with a supplemental response prepared in compliance with this order, the Public Records Law and its Regulations. This response must explain which records have been provided and address the remaining records to be provided. If the Town maintains that any portion of the responsive records are exempt from disclosure it must provide a written explanation, with specificity, how a particular exemption applies to each record. To meet the specificity requirement a custodian must not only cite an exemption, but must also state why the exemption applies to the withheld or redacted portion of the responsive record. A copy of the response must be provided t this office. It is preferable to send an electronic copy of this response to this office at re sec tate.ma.us. I cc: Ms. Jane Bybee Mr. Terry French- Senior Records and Information Manager