Colman Herman v. Dartmouth, Town of - Town Administrator (SPR 20170567)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor ofR ecords May 4, 2017 SPR17/567 David Cressman Town Administrator Town of Dartmouth 400 Slocum Road Dartmouth, MA 02747 Dear Mr. Cressman: I have received the petition of Colman Herman appealing the response of the Town of Dartmouth (Town) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66 § lOA; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Specifically, Mr. Herman requested copies of all invoices submitted by the Town's outside lawyer who handled an identified case. The Town provided a response and fee estimate for copies and search time. Mr. Herman appealed the Town's response stating the search time was excessive. 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). Order In a telephone conversation with a member of the Public Records Division staff, the Town states it will provide a further response to Mr. Herman detailing how the search time was calculated and will provide Mr. Herman with said response, provided in a manner consistent with this order, the Public Records Law and its Regulations within ten (10) business days. 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. Mr. Herman may appeal the substantive nature of the Town's response within ninety (90) days. See 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). 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

David Cressman SPRI 7/567 Page 2 May 4, 2017 Sincerely, ~ u r r ~ Supervisor of Records cc: Colman Herman