Unger, Phyllis v. West Newbury, Town of - Town Clerk (SPR 20150924)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Shawn A. Williams Supervisor ofR ecords January 20, 2016 SPRlS/924 Mr. Michael P. McCarron Town Clerk Town of West Newbury 3 81 Main Street West Newbury, MA 01985 Dear Mr. McCarron: I have received the petition of Phyllis Unger appealing the non-response of the Town of West Newbury (Town) to her November 2015 requests for public records. G. L. c. 66 § 10(b); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(2). Specifically, Ms. Unger requested a list, spreadsheet or copies of all business certificates, a copy of the recording of the Zoning Board of Appeals hearing held on November 4, 2015 and a copy ofthe related Board decision from the hearing. In the November 18,2015 letter the Town responded to Dennis Unger, not Ms. Unger, stating "the Town does not have a document that is responsive" to a "request for a list of home occupations with addresses." This response does not appear to be responsive to Ms. Unger's requests. To date this office is unaware of any response made by the Town to Ms. Unger. 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, § 10(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, and in responding the individual who actually made the request. I find the Town has failed to respond to requests for public records. Accordingly, the Town is hereby ordered, within ten (10) days ofth1s order, to provide Ms. Unger with a response to her requests, provided in a manner consistent with this order, the Public Records Law and its Regulations. If the Town maintains that any portion of the responsive records are exempt from disclosure it must, within ten (1 0) days provide to Ms. Unger 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 any such OneAshburton Place, Room 1719, Boston, Massachusetts 02108. (617) 727-2832. Fax (617) 727-5914 www.sec.state.ma.us/pre

Mr. Michael P. McCarron SPR15/944 Page 2 January 20, 2016 response must be provided to this office. It is preferable to send an electronic copy of this response to this office at pre@sec.state.ma.us. 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. To assist the Town in responding to requests for public records, I have enclosed a copy of our publication, A Guide to the Massachusetts Public Records Law. This document is also available on the Internet, free of charge, at http://www.sec.state.ma.us/pre/prepdf/guide.pdf. Attorneys on my staff are available during regular business hours to answer general questions regarding the Public Records Law. In addition, members of my staff will visit a records custodian in person to conduct training workshops on the Public cords Law upon request. Please contact my office directly at the telephone number below r further information. Enclosure cc: Ms. Phyllis Unger