John D. Rousseau v. Holden, Town of - Fire Department (SPR 20160804)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Shawn A. Williams Supervisor of& cords October 18, 2016 SPR16/804 Chief John Chandler Town of Holden-Fire Department 1370 Main Street Holden, MA 01520 Dear Chief Chandler: I have received the petition of John Rousseau appealing the response of Town of Holden Fire Department (Department) to his request for public records. G. L. c. 66 § 10(b); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(2). Specifically, Mr. Rousseau requested copies of records containing his name or any assigned identifier. In a response dated July 26, 2016 the Department provided the only responsive record in its custody with certain dates of birth redacted. Mr. Rousseau appealed the failure of the Department to cite an exemption to permit such redaction. 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. It is my understanding that a member of my staff spoke to you with respect to this appeal. I will accordingly consider this appeal closed with the proviso that the Department issues a revised written response to Mr. Rousseau's 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. I wish to thanl<: you for your cooperation in this matter. / aw Supervisor of Records cc: Mr. John Rousseau OneAshburton Place, Room 1719, Boston, Massachusetts 02108 · (617) 727-2832 ·Fax (617) 727-5914 www.sec.state.ma.us/pre