Kristin Stanley v. Phillipston, Town of (SPR 20171349)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor ofR ecords September 26, 2017 SPR17/1349 Kevin Flynn Administrative Assistant Town of Phillipston Board of Selectmen 50 The Common Phillipston, MA 01331 Dear Mr. Flynn: I have received the petition of Kristin Stanley appealing the response of the Town of Phillipston Board of Selectmen (Town) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § 1O A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Specifically, Ms. Stanley requested copies of executive session minutes from three identified meetings. In its September 13, 2017 response, the Town denied the request pursuant to the Open Meeting Law as it operates through Exemption (a) of the Public Records Law. See G. L. c. 30A, §§ 22(f), 21(a)(l); G. L. c. 4, § 7(26)(a). Ms. Stanley appealed this response. Purpose of request In her appeal petition Ms. Stanley notes that the executive sessions at issue were convened to address her complaint and asserts "I should have access to these minutes documenting their efforts to address my complaint." Please note that the reason for which a requestor seeks access to or a copy of a public record does not afford any greater right of access to the requested information than other persons in the general public. The Public Records Law does not distinguish between requestors. Access to a record pursuant to the Public Records Law rests on the content of the record and not the circumstances of the requester. See Bougas v. Chief of Police of Lexington, 371 Mass. 59, 64 (1976). Accordingly, Ms. Stanley's purpose in making the request has no bearing on the public status of any existing responsive records. Open Meeting Law In its September 13th response, the Town asserts that "[t]he Board of Selectmen met in executive session on August 28, 2017 to review and approve these minutes. Please be advised that after careful review, it is the Town's position that the purposes which the executive sessions were convened have not expired, and as a result, the minutes are not subject to disclosure at this time." The Town cites G. L. c. 30A, §§ 2l(a)(l), 22(f) in support ofthis position. You also cite 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

Kevin Flynn SPR17/1349 Page 2 September 26, 2017 Exemption (c) of the Public Records Law and state "[b] ecause the executive session meetings involved personnel matters, which were properly discussed pursuant to G.L. c. 30A, §2l(a)(l), and therefore contain 'personnel information' that is 'absolutely exempt from disclosure,' the purposeofthose sessions has not expired." The nature of Ms. Stanley's request and the content of the Town's response potentially invoke the Open Meeting Law, particularly with respect to the issue of whether the lawful purposes of the executive sessions have ended. Given that an interpretation of the Open Meeting Law falls within the authority of the Office of the Attorney General (AGO) and not this office, I decline to provide a determination as to the public status of the executive session minutes at this time. See G.L. c. 30A, §23. It is recommended that the parties contact the AGO to seek a determination on this issue. Sincerely, Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Kristin Stanley