Patrick Higgins v. Swansea, Town of - Town Clerk (SPR 20160406)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Shawn A. Williams Supervisor ofR ecords June 21, 2016 SPR16/406; SPR16/411; SPR16/412 Mr. John McAuliffe Town of Swansea- Town Administrator 81 Main Street Swansea, MA 02777 Dear Mr. McAuliffe: I have received the petition of Patrick Higgins appealing the nomesponse of the Town of Swansea (Town) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66 § 1O (b ); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(2). Specifically, Mr. Higgins requested a number of records pertaining to the Town, Town Administrator, and Town employees. Having received no response, Mr. Higgins 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 intervention by a member of my staff, this office was notified by you that a response will be provided. 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. Higgins 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. OneAshburton Place, Room 1719, Boston, Massachusetts 02108 · (617) 727-2832 ·Fax (617) 727-5914 www.sec.state.ma. us/pre

Mr. John McAuliffe SPR16/406; SPR16/411; SPR16/412 Page 2 June 21, 2016 In addition, members of my staff will visit a records custodian in person to conduct training workshops on the Public Records Law upon request. lease contact my office directly at the telephone number provided in this determination for furth r information. Supervisor of Records cc: Mr. Patrick Higgins