Steve Damish v. Brockton, City of - Law Department (SPR 20160605)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Shawn A. Williams Supervisor ofR ecords August 18, 2016 SPR16/605 Ms. Karen A. Fisher, Esq. City of Brockton -Assistant City Solicitor 45 School Street Brockton, MA 02301 Dear Attorney Fisher: I have received the petition of Steve Damish, Managing Editor of The Enterprise, appealing the response of the City of Brockton (City) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66 § 1O (b ); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(2). Specifically, The Enterprise requested for copies of any record containing "the names of the finalists who applied and were interviewed" for a position as "spokesperson for the Brockton Police Department." In its response the City denied this request, and Mr. Damish 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 meet the specificity requirement a custodian must not only cite an exemption, but must also state why the exemption \lpplies 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 Records Law. In addition, members of my staff will visit a records custodian in person to OneAshburton Place, Room 1719, Boston, Massachusetts 02108 · (617) 727-2832 ·Fax (617) 727-5914 www.sec.state.ma. us/pre

Ms. Karen A. Fisher, Esq. SPR16/605 Page2 August 18, 2016 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. The City's response In its response the City cited Exemption (c) to deny access to responsive records. G. L. c. 4, § 7 (26) (c). In the response, however, it is not clear what records exist that are responsive to the request. In the denial the City explained it possessed resumes and applications. It is not clear whether any other records exist that might be responsive, such as interoffice communications such as emails or other records. Accordingly, I find the City has failed to use its superior knowledge to respond to a request for public records. Order I find the City has failed to respond to a request for public records. Accordingly, the City is hereby ordered to review the original request, review its records and provide Mr. Damish with a revised response to the request from The Enterprise, prepared in a manner consistent with this order, the Public Records Law and its Regulations. This response must include a custodial index of all records that are responsive to the request. See 950 C.M.R. 32.08. A copy of any such response must be provided to this office. It is preferable to send a electronic copy of this response to this office at pre@sec.state.ma.us. y, d I, wn A. Williams Supervisor of Records cc: Mr. Steve Damish