Concerned Citizens Medford v. Medford, City of - Housing Authority (SPR 20170228)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor ofR ecords March 7, 2017 SPR17/228 John Coddington, Executive Director Medford Housing Authority 121 Riverside Avenue Medford, MA 0215 5 Dear Mr. Coddington: I have received the petition of the Concerned Citizens of Medford (Citizens) appealing the response of the Medford Housing Authority (Authority) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66 § 1O A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1 ). Specifically, the Citizens requested the employment background and a list of qualifications for a specifically identified individual. The Authority responded to the Citizens providing a copy of the job posting and stated all other documents are exempt for disclosure as personnel records. The Citizens appealed your response. 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, § lOA(d); 950 C.M.R. 32.03(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, § 1 O(b )(iv), 950 C.M.R. 32.06(3); see also Dist. 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. · If there are any fees associated with a response a written, good faith estimate must be provided. G. L. c. 66, § 1 O(b )(viii); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.07(2). Once fees are paid, a records custodian must provide the responsive records. 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

John Coddington, Executive Director SPRl 7/228 Page 2 March 7, 2017 To assist in requesting and responding to requests for public records please refer to our publication, A Guide to the Massachusetts Public Records Law. This document is available on the Internet, free of charge, at http://www.sec.state.ma.us/pre/prepdf/guide.pdf. Public Records Division attorneys are available during regular business hours to answer general questions regarding the Public Records Law. In addition, Public Records Division staff will visit a records custodian in person to conduct training workshops on the Public Records Law upon request. Please contact the Public Records Division directly at the telephone number provided in this determination for further information. Order Subsequent to a conversation with a member of the Public Records Division staff, the Authority has agreed to issue a revised response addressing each record requested, provided in a manner consistent with this order, the Public Records Law and its Regulations within ten (10) business days. I therefore consider this administrative appeal closed. 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. Sincerely, ~U/~~~ if Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Concerned Citizens of Medford