Steven Whalen v. Quincy, City of - Housing Authority (SPR 20180033)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division

Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records

January 23, 2018 SPR 18/033

Carolyn Crossley

Director of Program Management Quincy Housing Authority

80 Clay Street

Quincy, MA 02170

Ms. Crossley:

I have received the petition of Steven Whalen appealing the response of the Quincy Housing Authority (Authority) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Mr. Whalen originally requested “[a] copy of the names and addresses of all the people that are currently on the waiting list(s) for Quincy subsidized housing. Please include the lists from all the subsidized buildings in Quincy if there is not one master list.” The Authority responded on October 18, 2017 that the “names and addresses of applicants is confidential information.” The Authority also stated that it became clear that Mr. Whalen’s request was to

“contact applicants to determine if they may be selling a home, which could generate some business for [him].”

Appeal

Mr. Whalen appealed the Authority’s response believing the information he is requesting is not confidential. The Authority states they are unable to comply with Mr. Whalen’s request without “violating confidentiality rules.” It is unclear what type of responsive records the Authority possesses. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(b)(iv) (a written response shall “identify); Dist. Attorney for the Norfolk Dist. v. Flatley, 419 Mass. 507, 511 (1995) (custodian has the burden of establishing the applicability of an exemption). .

The Authority has not met its burden to withhold responsive records due to not citing any exemptions to allow for the withholding of records. When withholding requested records, a records custodian is required to provide a response that identifies “any records, categories of records or portions of records that the agency or municipality intends to withhold, and provide the specific reasons for such withholding, including the specific exemption or exemptions upon which the withholding is based.” G. L. c. 66, § 10(b)(iv). Any non-exempt, segregable portion of a public record is subject to mandatory disclosure. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(a); Reinstein v. Police

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

Ms. Carolyn Crossley SPR18/033 Page 2 January 23, 2018

Comm’r of Boston, 378 Mass. 281, 289-90 (1979) (the statutory exemptions are narrowly construed and are not blanket in nature).

Conclusion

Given that the Authority did not meet its burden in citing any exemptions or providing specific reasons for the withholding of the requested records, accordingly, the Authority is ordered to produce responsive records in its possession in a manner consistent with this determination, the Public Record Law, and its Regulation within ten business days. It is preferable to send an electronic copy of this response to this office at pre@sec.state.ma.us.

Sincerely,

tds.

Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records

cc: Steven Whalen