Julie Farrell v. Templeton, Town of - Town Administrator (SPR 20161155)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Shawn A. Williams Supervisor of Records December 16, 2016 SPR16/1155 Carter T erenzini Town Administrator Town of Templeton Town Hall, Room 6 P.O. Box 620, 160 Patriots Road East Templeton, MA 01438 Dear Mr. Terenzini: I have received the petition of Julie Farrell appealing the response of the Town of Templeton (Town) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66 § 1O (b ); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(2). Specifically, Ms. Farrell requested a copy of detailed legal invoices for legal services from July through October 2016. The Town provided the legal invoices in redacted format, without providing any privilege log or detailed response concerning exemption claims and specificity regarding why a particular exemption applies to each redaction of individual invoices. Ms. Farrell appealed. Prior appeal The responsive legal invoices were the subject of a prior appeal and determination. See SPR16/1085 Determination of the Supervisor of Records (December 2, 2016). In my determination I ordered the Town to provide Ms. Farrell with a revised response concerning the Town's failure to state an exemption with specificity to withhold the detailed legal invoices. On December 5 you return a telephone call to an attorney on my staff after I issued my determination. At that time, my staff attorney advised you that the detailed legal invoices are not confidential records; nor may they be withheld in their entirety pursuant to the attorney-client privilege. You were advised to provide the legal invoices with a privilege log or detailed response regarding any content that the Town may redact from the invoices. The Town provided Ms. Farrell with the legal invoices in a redacted format, but the Town did not comply with my determination. The Town failed to provide Ms. Farrell with a detailed response or privilege log to specifically explain what exemption allows the Town to withhold content within the legal invoices. 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

Carter T erenzini SPR16/1155 Page 2 December 14, 2016 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. The Town has failed to meet its statutory and regulatory obligation under the Public Records Law. Order I find the Town has failed to respond to a request for public records. Accordingly, the Town is hereby ordered to provide Ms. Farrell with a detailed response or privilege log specifically explaining the exemption(s) that allow the Town to withhold content within the legal invoices, within ten (10) days, and in a manner consistent with thi order, the Public Records Law and its Regulations. A copy of any such response must be p ovided to this office. It is preferable to send an electronic copy of this response to this offi eat pre@sec.state.ma.us. cc: Julie Farrell