David Bixby v. Chatham, Town of - Town Manager (SPR 20160841)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Shawn A. Williams Supervisor ofR ecords October 18, 2016 SPR16/841 Ms. Jill R. Goldsmith Town Manager-Town of Chatham 594 Main Street Chatham, MA 02633 Dear Manager Goldsmith: I have received the petition ofDavid Bixby appealing the response of Town of Chatham (Town) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66 § 10(b); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(2). Specifically, on September 17, 2016 Mr. Bixby made four requests records regarding him and possible charges of harassment. In his September 17 requests he requested that the Town respond to each request individually. In a response dated September 19,2016 the Town explained that it answered Mr. Bixby's August 31,2016 request for records by providing him with forty ( 40) pages of records in person. Mr. Bixby 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, § lO(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). 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, § 10(b); 950 C.M.R. 32.05. The response may be an offer to provide records, a fee estimate for provision of the records, or a denial. 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, § lO(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. OneAshburton Place, Room 1719, Boston, Massachusetts 02108 · (617) 727-2832 ·Fax (617) 727-5914 www.sec.state.ma. us/ pre

Ms. Jill R. Goldsmith SPR16/841 Page2 October 18, 2016 Order For the reasons discussed above, the Town is hereby ordered, within ten (10) days, to provide Mr. Bixby with a revised written response to his September 17 requests for records. This response must be prepared in compliance with this order, the Public Records Law and its Regulations, and must include a statement about what was provided and what is left to be provided. 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. David Bixby