Glen Ayers v. Greenfield, Town of - Accounting Department (SPR 20180384)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor ofR ecords April 2, 2018 SPR18/384 Ms. Elizabeth Braccia Town Accountant Accounting and Finance Department 14 Court Square, Room 103 Greenfield, MA O1 301 Dear Ms. Braccia: I have received the petition of Mr. Glen Ayers appealing the response of the Town of Greenfield (Town) to his request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § lOA; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Specifically, Mr. Ayers requested records related to gas line redistribution. The Town's response, dated March 21, 2018, claims there are no records responsive to Mr. Ayers' request. Unsatisfied with this response, Mr. Ayers petitioned this office, and this appeal was opened as a result. The Public Records Law The Town's March 21, 2018 response indicates that "there are no documents responsive to [Mr. Ayers] request in the Town of Greenfield." In accordance with the Public Records Law, a custodian is expected to use their superior knowledge of the records in their custody to assist the requester in obtaining the desired information. 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). A records access officer (RAO) must explain whether it possesses any other responsive records and use its knowledge of the records to facilitate providing any additional responsive records. G. L. c. 66, § lO(b)(vii) (a municipality shall suggest a reasonable modification of the scope of the request or offer to assist the requestor to modify the scope of the request if doing so would enable the agency to produce records sought more efficiently and affordably). It is my understanding that a Public Records Division staff member contacted you about this matter and you indicated your willingness to provide Mr. Ayers with a supplemental response. 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. Elizabeth Braccia SPR18/384 Page 2 April 2, 2018 Conclusion Accordingly, the Town is hereby ordered to provide a response to Mr. Ayers without delay. Said response shall be 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. Mr. Ayers 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: Mr. Glen Ayers