Dina Maietta v. Swampscott, Town of - Town Administrator (SPR 20180022)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor ofR ecords January 22, 2018 SPR18/022 Ronald Mendes Assistant Town Administrator Town of Swampscott 22 Monument A venue Swampscott, MA O1 907 Dear Mr. Mendes: I have received the petition of Dina Maietta appealing the response of the Swampscott Town Administrator's Office (Town) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § lOA; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Specifically, Ms. Maietta made two separate requests for various financial documents within the possession of the Town. Unsatisfied with the response she had received from the Town, Ms. Maietta petitioned this office and this appeal was opened as a result. 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, § IOA(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, § lO(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. Separate requests The basis of Ms. Maietta's appeal stems from two separate requests that she made. The first was made on December 8, 2017 for copies of receipts for one specific event hosted in October of 2017. The second request was made on December 11, 2017 for deposit slips for four 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

Ronald Mendes SPR18/022 Page2 January 22, 2018 events hosted by the Town. To date, the Town has responded to both requests separately. Both of these requests and their respective responses will be addressed herein. December s111 request On December 8, 2017, Ms. Maietta contacted the Town requesting "all receipt copies for everyone that was in this past car show in October." A representative from the Town responded on January 3, 2018, providing certain documents. Ms. Maietta subsequently responded, noting her dissatisfaction with not having received the deposit slips (made in separate request, prior to Town's response). December 1 J1h request On December 11, 2017, Ms. Maietta contacted the Town requesting "all cash deposit slips from the last five years from the July 4th festivals, car shows, strawberry festival as well as where the deposits are from this summer's camp program with the popsicle money." A representative from the Town responded on January 9, 2018 via email providing Ms. Maietta with five documents. Ms. Maietta responded soon after, again noting her dissatisfaction with the aforementioned response. Current appeal In its latest response sent on January 9, 2018, an agent of the Town notes that they "have no further documents ... that fall within the scope of (the December 8th] request." In the same response, the Town also addresses Ms. Maietta's December 11th request by stating that it has provided "receipts that are deposited into the 4th of July fund and car show." The Town concluded that any recetts and deposits associated with the Strawberry Festival would likely be included with the July 4ti receipt records enclosed. Ms. Maietta responded to the Town's January 9th response noting her dissatisfaction. Conclusion Despite two previous responses from the Town, both containing information pertinent to Ms. Maietta's request, it appears that Ms. Maietta still contends that the Town has other responsive records within its possession. However, the Town has satisfactorily confirmed that there are no other responsive records concerning Ms. Maietta's December gth request. In accordance with the Public Records Law, custodians are expected to use their superior knowledge of the records in their custody to assist requesters in obtaining the desired information. See 950 C.M.R. 32.04(5). With respect to the Town's response to the December 11th request, I find the Town has not fully satisfied its burden in providing all of the responsive records. The Town has the burden of responding to a request with a written response that identifies any public records or categories

Ronald Mendes SPR18/022 Page 3 January 22, 2018 of public records sought that are not within the possession, custody, or control of the Town. G. L. C. 66, § 1O (b )(ii). As such, the Town is ordered to provide Ms. Maietta with a response made in accordance with the Public Records Law, its Access Regulations and this order within ten business days. It is preferable to send an electronic copy of this response to this office at pre@sec.state.ma.us. Ms. Maietta may appeal the substantive nature of the Town's response within ninety days. See 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Sincerely, Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Dina Maietta