Christopher Donovan v. Norwood, Town of - Town Clerk (SPR 20180222)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor ofR ecords March 6, 2018 SPR18/222 Thomas J. McQuaid, CPA Town Clerk Norwood Town Hall 566 Washington Street, 2nd Floor, Room 32, Norwood, MA 02062 Dear Mr. McQuaid: I have received the petition from Christopher Donovan appealing the response from the Town of Norwood (Town) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § 1 OA; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Mr. Donovan states that he has had "difficulty obtaining records," from the Norwood Airport Commission. On December 28, 2017 Mr. Donovan requested the "Norwood Airport Commission meeting minutes for Calendar year 2007, 2008,2010,2012, and 2013." The Town sent responses on January 11,2018 and February 7, 2018 to Mr. Donovan which "included both the draft and approved minutes of Norwood Airport Commission (NAC) meetings from the following years: 2007, 2008, 2010, 2012 and 2013." The Town explained that "records subject to applicable exemptions included any executive session minutes not released by the NAC. These documents are not included in the response." Mr. Donovan makes his appeal based on the Town not producing the Executive Session minutes. Appeal Mr. Donovan appealed the Town's lack of explanation for the reasoning behind the withholding of Executive Session minutes. The Town 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 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, § 1O (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 Comm'r of Boston, 378 Mass. 281, 289- 90 (1979) (the statutory exemptions are narrowly construed and are not blanket in nature). 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

Thomas J. McQuaid, CPA SPR18/222 Pg.2 March 6, 2018 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, § lO(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, § 1 O(b). All records 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, § 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 ofthe public record sought, if known. See G. L. c. 66, § lO(b) (iii). Conclusion The Town did not meet its burden to demonstrate the records are not public given that it did not cite any exemptions or provide specific reasons for the withholding of the requested records. Accordingly, the Town 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, ~ Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Mr. Christopher Donovan