Kelly M. Kelly v. Townsend, Town of - Town Administrator (SPR 20160566)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Shawn A. Williams Supervisor ofR ecords August 11, 2016 SPR16/566 Mr. James Kreidler, Town Administrator Town of Townsend 272 Main Street Townsend, MA 01469 Dear Mr. Kreidler: I have received the petition of Kelly Kelly appealing the response of the Town of Townsend (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. Kelly requested three records regarding a specifically identified Town employee. Ms. Kelly received one of the records, however, two were not provided and no exemption was citing regarding the withholding of these two records. Despite our letter to you dated August 1, 2016 acknowledging the opening of this appeal and communication with a member of my staff, no response has been provided. 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 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. 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 OneAshburton Place, Room 1719, Boston, Massachusetts 02108 · (617) 727-2832 ·Fax (617) 727-5914 www.sec.state.ma. us/pre

Mr. James Kreidler, Town Administrator SPR16/566 Page 2 August 11, 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 provided in this determination for further information. Order I find the Town has failed to overcome the presumption that withheld records are public. Accordingly, the Town is hereby ordered to provide Ms. Kelly with a revised response to the 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. upervisor of Records cc: Ms. Kelly Kelly