Sean F. Driscoll v. Bourne, Town of - Town Administrator (SPR 20160062)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Shawn A. Williams Supervisor ofR ecords February 5, 2016 SPR16/062 Mr. Thomas M. Guerino, Town Administrator Town of Bourne 24 Perry A venue Buzzards Bay, MA 02532 Dear Mr. Guerino: I have received the petition of Sean Driscoll appealing the nomesponse of the Town of Bourne (Town) to a request for public records dated November 30,2015. G. L. c. 66 § 10(b); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(2). Specifically, Mr. Driscoll requested records regarding Town employees. Despite our letter to you dated January 27, 2015 acknowledging the opening of this appeal and numerous communications with a member of my staff, no response has been provided to this request. 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). I find the Town has failed to respond to a request for public records. Accordingly, the Town is hereby ordered, within ten (10) days ofthis order, to provide Mr. Driscoll with a response to the request, 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 Mr. Driscoll 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. Thomas M. Guerino SPR16/062 Page2 February 5, 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, § lO(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 ($10.00), 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 ecords Law upon request. Please contact my office directly at the telephone number provid d in this determination for further information. Enclosure cc: Mr. Sean Driscoll