C.J. Ferry v. Fall River, City of - Office of the Corporation Counsel (SPR 20160917)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Shawn A. Williams Supervisor of Records October 27, 2016 SPR16/917 Joseph Macy, Esq. Corporation Counsel City of Fall River One Government Center Fall River, MA 02722 Dear Attorney Macy: I have received the petition of C.J. Ferry of Spindle City Straight Talk appealing the response of City of Fall River (City) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66 § 1O (b ); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(2). Specifically, Mr. Ferry requested a copy of "all posts, messages, activities or communications through all social media platforms that have been utilized by City Grant Coordinator Mike Aguiar." This request was the subject of a prior administrative appeal. See SPR16/447 Determination of the Supervisor of Records (July 12, 2016). In my July 12 determination, I found that the City had failed to meet its statutory obligation of specificity to state whether Mr. Aguiar made or received any social media postings or messages in his capacity as City Grant Coordinator. I ordered the City to provide Mr. Ferry with another response, and the City did so in an August 10 letter. This letter states, "[S]uch information is not a public record although it may be in the public domain. Governmental entities are only required to produce public records as defined in the law. Mr. Aguiar does not use such accounts in his capacity as Grant Coordinator." On October 26, 2016, you also spoke to a member of my legal staff to confirm these statements. Accordingly, I find that the City's August 10 explanation satisfies the specificity required by my prior administrative order that Mr. Aguiar does not use social media in his capacity as a City employee. This administrative is closed. cc: C.J. Ferry 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