Robert Cockerline v. Ayer, Town of - Town Clerk (SPR 20160179)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Shawn A. Williams Supervisor ofR ecords March 23, 2016 SPR16/179 Ms. Susan Copeland Town of Ayer- Clerk's Office One Main Street Ayer, MA 01432 Dear Ms. Copeland: I have received the petition of Robert Cockerline appealing the nomesponse of the Town of Ayer-Town Clerk (Town) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66 § lO(b); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(2). Specifically, Mr. Cockerline requested a number of records pertaining to a property. Specifically, Mr. Cockerline explained he is "looking to identify the correct address of the property, current owner and their contact info, a floor plan of the structure on the property, and disclosures about the property including but not limited to contamination or septic issues, and all other information on record about the property and structure." Having received no response, Mr. Cockerline petitioned this office. 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. Subsequent to the opening of this appeal, a member of my staff contacted you by phone, sent you an acknowledgement letter, and emailed you a copy of the file. With the proviso that Town will provide a written response within ten (10) days, whereas this matter was opened based upon the Town's failure to provide a written response, I will now consider this administrative appeal closed. Mr. Cockerline may appeal the substantive nature of the Town's response within ninety (90) days. See 950 C.M.R. 32.08(2). 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 OneAshburton Place, Room 1719, Boston, Massachusetts 02108 · (617) 727-2832 ·Fax (617) 727-5914 www.sec.state.ma. us/ pre

Ms. Susan Copeland SPR16/179 Page2 March 23, 2016 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 req est. Please contact my office directly at the telephone number provided in this determination r further information. illiams cc: Mr. Robert Cockerline