Kevin C. Merritt, Esq. v. Plymouth, Town of - Town Manager (SPR 20160843)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Shawn A. Williams Supervisor ofR ecords October 18, 2016 SPR16/843 Ms. Melissa Arrighi Town Manager 11 Lincoln Street Plymouth, MA 02360 Dear Manager Arrighi: I have received the petition of Kevin Merritt, Esq., on behalf of his client Christine Maloney, appealing the nonresponse of the Town of Plymouth (Town) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66 § 10(b); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(2). Specifically, on or about August 17, 2016 Ms. Maloney requested copies of records between the Town and the Norfolk County Sheriff's Office. Having received no response, Attorney Merritt petitioned this office. Under the Public Records Law and the Access Regulations (Regulations) all requests for public records must be met with a response within ten (1 0) 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. All records custodians must comply with both the Public Records Law and the Regulations with respect to the timeliness of response. I find the Town has failed to respond to a request for public records. Accordingly, the Town is hereby ordered to provide Attorney Merritt with a response to the 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. ( Supervisor of Records cc: Mr. Kevin Merritt, Esq. OneAshburton Place, Room 1719, Boston, Massachusetts 02108 · (617) 727-2832 ·Fax (617) 727-5914 www.sec.state.ma.us/pre