C.J. Ferry v. Fall River, City of - Office of the Corporation Counsel (SPR 20160918)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Shawn A. Williams Supervisor of Records October 27, 2016 SPR16/918 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 the City of Fall River (City) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66 § lO(b); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(2). Specifically, Mr. Ferry requested a copy records related to the City's Charter Commission. This request was subject of a prior appeal. See SPR 16/532 Determination of the Supervisor of Records (August 5, 2016). I ordered the City to provide Mr. Ferry a revised response to Mr. Ferry's request. The City replied to this administrative order by letter dated August 17, 2016, citing Exemption (d) in withholding responsive records. Mr. Ferry appealed. 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). 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. Based on a conversation with an attorney on my staff you agreed to provide a revised written response. Accordingly, I will consider this administrative appeal closed with the proviso that the City provide Mr. Ferry with this 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 co y of this response to this office at pre@sec.state.ma.us. Supervisor of Records 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