David Bixby v. Chatham, Town of - Town Manager (SPR 20160122)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Shawn A. Williams Supervisor ofR ecords March 10, 2016 SPR16/122 Ms. Jill R. Goldsmith Town Manager Town of Chatham 549 Main Street Chatham, MA 02633 Dear Ms. Goldsmith: I have received the petition of David Bixby appealing the response of the Town of Chatham (Town) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66 § 10(b); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(2). Specifically, Mr. Bixby requested records regarding a contract between Hangar B Eatery and Cape Cod Flying Circus. The Town responded stating that the Town is not in possession of the requested records and that such requests should be made to Cape Cod Flying Circus. Mr. Bixby appealed believing that the Town should have possession of the records. Under the Public Records Law and the Access Regulations (Regulations) all requests for public records must be met with a response within ten (10) 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. All records custodians must comply with both the Public Records Law and the Regulations with respect to the timeliness of response. It is the duty of a record custodian to use his superior knowledge of the records to assist a requester in obtaining the records 950 C.M.R. 32.05(4). I must accept that the Town understood Mr. Bixby's request and responded to it with the best of its knowledge. Accordingly, whereas there are no records responsive to this request I will consider this administrative appeal closed. 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 OneAshburton Place, Room 1719, Boston, Massachusetts 02108 · (617) 727-2832 ·Fax (617) 727-5914 www.sec.state.ma. us/ pre

Ms. Jill R. Goldsmith SPR16/122 Page 2 March 10, 2016 request. Please contact my office directly at the telephone number provided in this determination for further information. cc: Mr. David Bixby