Pamela Goodwin v. Upton, Town of - Housing Authority (SPR 20160276)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Shawn A. Williams Supervisor ofR ecords May 16,2016 SPR16/276 Ms. Millie M. Galeone Upton Housing Authority, Chairperson 4 Hartford Ave N Upton, MA 01568 Dear Ms. Galeone: I have received the petition of Pamela Goodwin appealing the response of the Town of Upton- Housing Authority (Authority) to her January 12, 2016 request for public records. G. L. c. 66 § 10(b); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(2). Ms. Goodwin requested a total of five (5) items of records. Previous appeal and determinations This request was the subject of a previous appeal and determination. See SPR16/144 Determination ofthe Supervisor of Records (March 11, 2016). In my March 11 determination I found the Authority had yet to meet its burden in responding to Ms. Goodwin's request. As a result, I ordered the Authority to provide Ms. Goodwin with a written response to her request. Both you and the Authority's Executive Director provided responses to this order. Ms. Goodwin appealed these responses and requests this office take further action. No records exist responsive to Request 1 or Request 2 You explained in your response to Ms. Goodwin that the Authority has no records responsive to Request 1 or Request 2. The duty to comply with requests for information extends only to those records that exist and are in the custody of the custodian of records at the time of the request. See G. L. c. 4, § 7(26). Accordingly, I will consider this appeal closed with respect to Request 1 and Request 2. Authority has not yet met burden with respect to Request 3 In Request 3 Ms. Goodwin sought copies of Authority records related to a member of the Authority appointed by the Governor. The Authority's response is unclear as to whether it possesses responsive records. Accordingly, I find the Authority has failed to meet its burden OneAshburton Place, Room 1719, Boston, Massachusetts 02108 · (617) 727-2832 ·Fax (617) 727-5914 www.sec.state.ma. us/pre

Ms. Millie M. Galeone SPR16/276 Page2 May 16,2016 under the Public Records Law with respect to Request 3. The Authority is hereby ordered, within ten (10) days of this order, to provide Ms. Goodwin with a revised response to Request 3, prepared in a manner consistent with this order, the Public Records Law and its Regulations. If the Authority maintains that any portion of the responsive records are exempt from disclosure it must, within ten (10) days provide to Ms. Goodwin 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 of this response to this office at pre@sec.state .rna. 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 req est. Please contact my office directly at the telephone number provided in this det ination fi r further information. cc: Ms. Pamela Goodwin