Steve Meister v. Arlington, Town of - Assessor (SPR 20160828)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Shawn A Williams Supervisor ofR ecords October 18, 2016 SPR16/828 Mr. Paul Tierney, MAA Director of Assessments Town of Arlington 730 Massachusetts Avenue Arlington, MA 02476 Dear Mr. Tierney: I have received the petition of Steve Meister appealing the response of the Town of Arlington (Town) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66 § 1 O(b ); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(2). This request was subject to a prior appeal. See SPR16/699 Determination of the Supervisor of Records (September 16, 2016). In closed SPR16/699 with the proviso that the Town provide a written response to Mr. Meister's request in a manner consistent with the Public Records Law. 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 One Ashburton Place, Room 1719, Boston, Massachusetts 02108 • (617) 727-2832• Fax: (617) 727-5914 sec.state.ma.us/pre • pre@sec.state.ma.us

Mr. Paul Tierney SPR16/828 Page 2 October 18, 2016 provide written good faith estimate). Once fees are paid, a records custodian must provide the responsive records. 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. Present appeal Mr. Tierney informed this office that he received records, but not all responsive records. In an October 17 email to this office, you indicated that, pursuant to a licensing agreement the Town is unable to share certain portions of its data. This response does not comply with the requirements of the Public Records Law; the Town has claimed no exemption to permit withholding of records made or received by the Town. Order I find the Town has failed to respond to a request for public records. Accordingly, the Town is hereby ordered to review Mr. Meister's request and provide him with a revised written response, 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. Steve Meister