Charles Hillman v. Huntington, Town of (SPR 20160298)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Shawn A. Williams Supervisor ofR ecords May 13, 2016 SPR16/298 Ms. Helen Speckels Administrative Assistant Huntington Selectboard 24 Russell Road, PO Box 430 Huntington, MA 01050 Dear Ms. Speckels: I have received the petition of Charles Hillman appealing the nonresponse of the Town of Huntington (Town) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66 § 1O (b ); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(2). Specifically, Mr. Hillman requested records pertaining to "testing of the exit discharge lighting for the rear stairway at 23 East Main Street." Having received no response, Mr. Hillman 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 (1 0) days of the request. G. L. c. 66, § 1O (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 intervention by a member of my staff, this office was notified that a response was provided by Huntington Building Commissioner George Peterson, dated April22, 2016. 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. Hillman 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 Records Law. In addition, members ofmy 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. Helen Spekels SPR16/298 Page 2 May 13,2016 request.· Please contact my office directly at the telephone number provided in this determination for further information. Supervisor of Records cc: Mr. Charles Hillman