Bernard J. Romani v. South Hadley, Town of - Town Clerk (SPR 20160743)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Shawn A. Williams Supervisor ofR ecords September 27,2016 SPR16/743 Ms. Meghan B. Sullivan, Esq. Sullivan Hayes & Quinn, LLC One Monarch Place, Suite 1200 Springfield, MA 01144 Dear Attorney Sullivan: I have received the petition of Mr. Bernard Romani appealing the response of The Town of South Hadley (Town) to his request for public records. G. L. c. 66 § 10(b); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(2). Specifically, Mr. Romani requested records related to job descriptions, communications of individuals in the Town, policies of a golf course operation, and reports from the Town's treasurer's office. In a response dated August 5, 2016, the City provided certain records and explained it "will present a request for payment prior to disbursement" of other records. Having received a partial response, Mr. Romani petitioned this office. 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. If there are any fees associated with a response a written, good faith estimate must be provided. G. L. c. 66, § 10(a); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.06(2) (where cost of complying with a request for public records is expected to exceed ten dollars ($10.00), custodian of records shall provide written good faith estimate). Once fees are paid, a records custodian must provide the responsive records. OneAshburton Place, Room 1719, Boston, Massachusetts 02108 · (617) 727-2832 ·Fax (617) 727-5914 www.sec.state.ma. us/ pre

Ms. Meghan B. Sullivan, Esq. SPR16/743 Page 2 September 27, 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. Order 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, § 1O (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. The 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 subsequent response to a request for public records as well as the additional requested records. Accordingly, I will consider this administrative appeal closed with the proviso that the Town provide Mr. Romani a written response to his 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. cc: Mr. Bernard Romani