Christine Smith v. Hubbardston, Town of - Town Administrator (SPR 20160542)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Shawn A. Williams Supervisor ofR ecords August 8, 2016 SPR16/542 Ms. Raeanne P. Siegel Interim Town Administrator Town of Hubbardston 7 Main Street, Unit 3 Hubbardston, MA 01452 Dear Ms. Siegel: I have received the petition of Christine Smith of The Gardner News appealing the response of the Town of Hubbardston-Town Administrator (Town) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66 § 1 O(b ); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(2). Specifically, Ms. Smith requested a copy via electronic mail of all records of money recorded by the Town that was paid to the Town by a specifically-named individual from January 2015 through July 21,2016. The Town denied Ms. Smith's request, citing both Exemptions (c) and Exemption (f) of the Public Records Law. In this response the Town did not state which of either exemption may apply; Ms. Smith appealed. The Public Records Law The Public Records Law strongly favors disclosure by creating a presumption that all governmental records are public records. G. L. c. 66, § 10(c); 950 C.M.R. 32.08(4). "Public records" is broadly defined to include all documentary materials or data, regardless of physical form or characteristics, made or received by any officer or employee of any town of the Commonwealth, unless falling within a statutory exemption. G. L. c. 4, § 7(26). It is the burden of the records custodian to demonstrate the application of an exemption in order to withhold a requested record. G. L. c. 66, § 10 ( c); see also District Attorney for the Norfolk Dist. v. Flatley, 419 Mass. 507, 511 (1995) (custodian has the burden of establishing the applicability of an exemption). To assist in requesting and responding to requests for public records I refer you 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. Raeanne P. Segal SPR16/542 Page2 August 8, 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 request. Please contact my office directly at the telephone number below for further information. Order The Town's response lacked specificity. The response stated that either Exemption (c) or Exemption (f) permit the Town to withhold responsive records; however, the Town did not state with specificity how either exemption would permit such nondisclosure. I find the Town has failed to properly respond to a request for public records, and has failed to rebut any presumption that any existing responsive records are public records. Accordingly, the Town is hereby ordered to provide Ms. Smith with a revised response to her request, prepared in a manner consistent with this order, the Public Records Law and its Regulations. 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.ma.us. Supervisor of Records cc: Ms. Christine Smith