Pullen, Nancy v. Massachusetts Port Authority (SPR 20150819)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Shawn A. Williams Supervisor ofR ecords December 30, 2015 SPRlS/819 Ms. Irene Moran Massport Employees' Retirement System One Harborside Drive, Suite 200S East Boston, MA 02128-2909 Dear Ms. Moran: I have received the petition ofNancy Pullen appealing the response ofthe Massport Employees' Retirement System (MPAERS) to her request for public records. G. L. c. 66 § 1O (b ); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(2). Specifically, Ms. Pullen requested a copy of a records showing all employees hired by Mas sport from October 1, 2009 through May 31, 2014 who transferred creditable years of service into the MP AERS including employee name, date of hire, amount of creditable time transferred, most recent employee department, most recent employee title and status of the employee employed or no longer employed by Mas sport. MPA ERS denied Ms. Pullen's request in part pursuant to Exemption (c), and she appealed. I ordered MP AERS to provide records or a written explanation with specificity to withhold each record or portion of the records. See SPR15/505 Determination ofthe Supervisor of Records (September 28, 2015). Subsequent to the closing of SPR15/505 you provided an additional response, dated October 16, 2015. In that response you continue to deny access to records associated with "creditable service time." Ms. Pullen again appealed. 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). OneAshburton Place, Room 1719, Boston, Massachusetts 02108 · (617) 727-2832 ·Fax (617) 727-5914 www.sec.state.ma. us/ pre

Ms. Irene Moran SPR15/819 Page Two December 30, 2015 In your October 16 letter to Ms. Pullen you state, "creditable service time" is analogous to a "member's retirement record." "Unlike salary or raise information," you state, "a member's retirement record is comprised of individual selections and choices." In an October 20,2015 email to an attorney on my staff, however, Ms. Pullen explained that she seeks responsive information related specifically to "years of creditable service." Ms. Pullen did not request any "member's retirement record." At my request an attorney on my staff spoke with MP AERS counsel in an effort to resolve the issues surrounding Ms. Pullen's appeal. Neither the resulting December 21, 2015 telephone conversation nor your letter, however, serves to satisfy the burden of specificity to support withholding the responsive information. In particular, you fail to state with specificity how "creditable service time" is analogous to "a member's retirement record." Accordingly, I find that MP AERS has not overcome the presumption that the requested records are public, MPAERS is hereby ordered, within ten (10) days ofthis order, to provide Ms. Pullen with the requested records. If there are any fees associated with this response a written, good faith estimate must be provided. G. L. c. 66, § 10(a); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.06(2) (where cost of complying with a request for public records is expected to exceed ten dollars ($1 0.00), custodian of records shall provide written good faith estimate). Once the fees are paid, you must provide the responsive records. A copy of any such response must be provided to this office. It is preferable to send an electronic copy ofthis respons o ·s office at pre@sec.state.ma.us. 1 I ! cc: Ms. Nancy Pullen