Caitlin Russell v. Dennis, Town of - Board of Selectmen (SPR 20160106)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Shawn A. Williams Supervisor ofR ecords March 10,2016 SPR16/106 Mr. Paul McCormick Chair Town of Dennis- Board of Selectmen 685 Route 134; PO Box 2060 Dennis, MA 02660 Dear Mr. McCormick: I have received the petition of Caitlin Russell appealing the response of the Town of Dennis -Board of Selectmen (Board) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66 § 1O (b ); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(2). Specifically, Ms. Russell requested an electronic copy of the Board's executive session minutes from the July 6, 2015 meeting. The Board provided the minutes in redacted format. Ms. Russell appealed, believing that the minutes have been excessively redacted. 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) Board failed to claim an exemption to support redactions ofp ublic records The Board failed to claim any exemptions to support the redaction of the executive session minutes that were provided. Therefore, the Board has failed to meet its burden under the Public Records Law. In a March 1, 2016 telephone conversation with an attorney on my staff, Jacquelyn Shea, Executive Assistant indicated that the Board would cooperate with this office in its review of the un-redacted minutes. This office informed Ms. Shea that the Board must provide this office and Ms. Russell with a detailed, written response to explain what exemption or exemptions the Board claims apply to the redactions and why those exemptions apply. OneAshburton Place, Room 1719, Boston, Massachusetts 02108 · (617) 727-2832 ·Fax (617) 727-5914 www.sec.state.ma. us/ pre

Mr. Paul McCormick SPR16/106 Page 2 March 10, 2016 Order I find the Board has failed to respond to a request for public records. Accordingly, the Board is hereby ordered, within ten (10) days of this order, to provide Ms. Russell with a revised response to the request, provided in a manner consistent with this order, the Public Records Law and its Regulations. If the Board maintains that any portion of the responsive records are exempt from disclosure it must, within ten (1 0) days provide to Ms. Russell 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 response must be provided to this office. It is preferable to send an electronic copy ofthis 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 ($10.00), custodian of records shall provide written good faith estimate). Once the fees are paid, you must provide the responsive records. To assist in requesting and responding to requests for public records please refer to our publication, A Guide to the Massachusetts Public Records Law. This document is 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 Records Law upon request. Please contact my office directly at the telephone number provided in this determination for further information. cc: Ms. Caitlin Russell