John A. Hawkinson v. Cambridge, City of - Office of the City Solicitor (SPR 20160053)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Shawn A. Williams Supervisor ofR ecords January 29, 2016 SPR16/053 Ms. Anne M. Sterman, Esq. Assistant City Solicitor City of Cambridge Office of the City Solicitor 795 Massachusetts Avenue Cambridge, MA 02139 Dear Attorney Sterman: I have received the petition of John Hawkinson appealing the response of City of Cambridge (City) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66 § 1O (b ); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(2). Specifically, Mr. Hawkinson requested an estimate for providing "any data dictionary or record layout associated with the City's Energov database that is substantially more than a list of tables and fields." Having received an incomplete response, Mr. Hawkinson petitioned this office. The Public Records Law strongly favors disclosure by creating a presumption that all governmental records are public records. G. L. c. 66, § lO(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. 5 07, 511 (199 5) (custodian has the burden of establishing the applicability of an exemption). Subsequent to the intervention by an attorney on my staff, Mr. Hawkinson notified this office that the City provided the remaining responsive records in a letter dated January 27, 2016. Whereas this matter was opened based upon the City's failure to respond to the entirety of the request, I will now consider this administrative appeal closed. OneAshburton Place, Room 1719, Boston, Massachusetts 02108 · (617) 727-2832 ·Fax (617) 727-5914 www.sec.state.ma. us/pre

Ms. Anne M. Sterman, Esq. SPR16/053 Page 2 January 29,2016 To assist the City 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 and other members of 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 Records Law upon request. lease contact my office directly at the telephone number provided in this determination for furt r information. illiams Enclosure cc: Mr. John Hawkinson