Patrick Courtney v. Bridgewater, Town of (SPR 20180141)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rchecca S. Munay Supemisor of Record.? February 13,20 18 SPR181141 Kimberly Williams Assistant Town Manager Tom of Bridgewater Municipal Office Building 66 Central Square Bridgewater, MA 02324 Dear Ms. Williams: I have received the petition from Patrick Courtney appealing the response from the Town of Bridgewater Water and Sewer Department (Department) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, $ 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Mr. Courtney states that he has not received a sufficient response from the Department and Mr. Courtney has made "repeated attempts to get [the Department] to respond to [his] request for public records without the redaction of names and addresses." Appeal Mr. Courtney appealed the Department's lack of explanation for the reasoning behind the redaction of the names and addresses in the Certified Payroll Records. The Department has not met its burden to withhold responsive records given that it has not cited 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 tliat 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, 5 10(b)(iv). Any non-exempt, segregable portion of a public record is subject to mandatory disclosure. See G. L. c. 66, 5 10(a); Reinstein v. Police Comm'r of Boston, 378 Mass. 281,289-90 (1979) (the statutory exemptions are narrowly construed and are not blanket in nature). Under the Public Records Law and the Access Regulations (Regulations) all requests for public records must be met with a response within ten business days of receipt of the request. G. L. c. 66, § 10(a)-(b). The response may contain, among other things, an offer to provide records, a fee estimate for provision of the records, or a denial. G. L. c. 66, 5 10(b). All records One Ashburton Place, Room 1719, Boston, Massachusetts 02108 (617) 727-2832. Fax: (617) 727-5914 . scc.state.ma.us/pre pre@sec.state.ma.us

Ms. Kimberly Williams Pg. 2 February 13,2018 custodians must comply with both the Public Records Law and the Regulations with respect to the timeliness of response. The duty to comply with requests for records extends to those records that exist and are in the possession, custody, or control of the custodian of records at the time of the request. See G. L. c. 66, 5 lO(a)(ii), (b)(ii). Also, the duty to comply with requests for records extends to identifying the agency or municipality that may be in possession, custody, or control of the public record sought, if known. G. L. c. 66, $ 10(b) (iii). Conclusion Given that the Department did not meet its burden in citing any exemptions or providing specific reasons for the withholding of the requested records, accordingly, the Department 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(ii,sec.state.ma.us. Sincerely, Supervisor of Records cc: Mr. Patrick Courtney