Jeff Lapworth v. Sherborn, Town of - Town Clerk (SPR 20160316)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Shawn A. Williams Supervisor ofR ecords May 24,2016 SPR16/316 Ms. Carole B. Marple Town of Sherborn-Town Clerk 19 Washington Street Sherborn, MA 01770 Dear Ms. Marple: I have received the petition of JeffLapworth appealing the nomesponse of the Town of Sherborn- Town Clerk (Town) to an April 26, 2016 request for public records. G. L. c. 66 § 1O (b ); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(2). Specifically, Mr. Lapworth requested to obtain "a photograph (of vital record journal entries for two of [Mr. Lapworth' s] ancestors)" that is maintained by the Town. In an email dated May 4, 2016 you denied this request and Mr. Lapworth appealed. 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. Town is advised that all records custodians must comply with both the Public Records Law and the Regulations with respect to the timeliness of response. The Town provided an initial response, but otherwise failed to meet its burden in providing a response to a request for public 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, § lO(b); 950 C.M.R. 32.05. The ten-day provision is a maximum, rather than a minimum, time frame for complying with a public records request. The response may be an offer to provide records, a fee estimate for provision of the records, or a denial. Town is advised that 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 by you that a revised written response was provided, dated May 19, 2016. Whereas this matter was opened based upon the Town's failure to provide a detailed written response, I will now consider this administrative appeal closed. Mr. Lapworth may appeal the substantive nature of the Town's response within ninety (90) days. See 950 C.M.R. 32.08(2). OneAshburton Place, Room 1719, Boston, Massachusetts 02108 · (617) 727-2832 ·Fax (617) 727-5914 www.sec.state.ma. us/pre

Ms. Carole B. Marple SPR16/316 Page2 May 24,2016 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. urs, cc: Mr. JeffLapworth