Susan T. Munford v. Kingston, Town of - Police Department (SPR 20171295)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor ofR ecords September 22, 2017 SPR17/1295 Maurice J. Splaine Chief of Police Town of Kingston Police Department 244 Main Street Kingston, MA 023 64 Dear Chief Splaine: I have received the petition of Susan Munford appealing the response of the Kingston Police Department (Department) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § 1O A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1 ). Specifically, Ms. Munford requested a copy of an email outlining a change in policy of how daily logs are handled. In a response dated September 8, 2017, the Department denied access to the record under Exemption (b) ofthe Public Records Law. G. L. c. 4, § 7(26)(b). 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, § 10A(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, § 10(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

ChiefMaurice J. Splaine SPR17/1295 Page 2 September 22, 2017 Exemption (b) Exemption (b) permits the withholding of: records that are related solely to internal personnel rules and practices of the government unit, provided however, that such records shall be withheld only to the extent that proper performance of necessary government functions requires such withholding G. L. c. 4, § 7 (26)(b ). There are no authoritative Massachusetts decisions interpreting Exemption (b). The general purpose of the cognate federal exemption, however, is to relieve agencies of the burden of assembling and maintaining for public inspection matters in which the public cannot reasonably be expected to have a legitimate interest. For Exemption (b) to apply in Massachusetts, a records custodian must demonstrate not only that the records relate solely to the internal personnel practices of the government entity, but also that proper performance of necessary government functions will be inhibited by disclosure. In the Department's September gth response you indicate, "I am entitled to withhold from providing records pertaining to internal practices" and you include the statutory language of Exemption (b). However, the Department does not provide any further specificity with respect to how Exemption (b) applies to the responsive record. Flatley, 419 Mass. at 511 (custodian has the burden of establishing the applicability of an exemption). In particular, it is unclear how the "proper performance of necessary government functions requires such withholding" as required by Exemption (b). Therefore, I find the Department has not met its burden to withhold the responsive record under Exemption (b). I understand a Public Records Division staff attorney contacted you about this matter. Conclusion Accordingly, the Department is ordered to provide Ms. Munford with a response to the request, provided in a manner consistent with this order, the Public Records Law and its Regulations within ten 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. Sincerely, ·~~ Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Susan Munford