Richard Parker v. Mansfield, Town of - Town Clerk (SPR 20180318)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor ofR ecords March 23, 2018 SPR18/318 Marianne E. Staples Town Clerk of Mansfield 6 Park Row, 2nd Floor Mansfield, MA 02048 Dear Ms. Staples: I have received the petition of Richard Parker appealing the response of Town of Mansfield (Town) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § 1 OA; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Specifically, Mr. Parker requested "[a]ny emails, letters, [correspondence] or text messages" between an identified Town official and various other identified individuals. On Marchi\ the Town responded to his request providing a fee estimate. Unsatisfied with the Town's response, Mr. Parker filed a petition with 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, § IO(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. If there are any fees associated with a response a written, good faith estimate must be provided. G. L. c. 66, § 1 O(b )(viii); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.07(2). Once fees are paid, a records custodian must provide the responsive records. 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

Town of Mansfield SPR18/318 Page 2 March 23, 2018 Order Subsequent to the intervention of a Public Records Division staff member, I learned that a representative from the Town provided a supplemental response to Mr. Parker on March 16th, a copy of which was provided to this office. The March 16th response indicates the Town's intention to provide a revised fee estimate to Mr. Parker. Whereas the basis of this appeal is the March ih fee estimate, I decline to opine on this matter. However, the Town must provide Mr. Parker with a revised fee estimate. Accordingly, the Town is hereby ordered to provide Mr. Parker with a response to the request, provided in a manner consistent with this order, the Public Records Law and its Regulations within ten business days. A copy of any such response must be provided to this office. It is preferable to send an electronic copy of this response to this office at pre@sec.state.ma.us. Mr. Parker may appeal the substantive nature of the Town's supplemental response within ninety days. See 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Sincerely, Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Richard Parker