Bryan Dumont v. Shirley, Town of (SPR 20181062)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records July 26,20 18 SPR1811062 William Oelfke Town Clerk Town of Shirley 7 Keady Way Shirley, MA 01464 Dear Mr. Oelfke: I have received the petition of Bryan Dumont appealing the response of the Town of Shirley (Town) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, 5 IOA; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Specifically, Mr. Dumont requested a copy of the February 27,2018 executive session meeting minutes of the Town's Board of Selectmen (Board). The Town initially withheld the executive session meeting minutes. Previous appeal The responsive February 27th executive session meeting minutes were the subject of a previous appeal. See SPR18/968 Determination of the Supervisor of Records (Supervisor) (July 12, 201 8). In my July 12~'d' etermination, I ordered the Town to review the minutes, redact where necessary and provide Mr. Dumont with the redacted minutes. On July 1s t", after voting to release the executive session meeting minutes, the Town provided Mr. Dumont with an un-redacted copy of the February 27th executive session meeting minutes of the Board. As a result of receiving the un-redacted executive session meeting minutes, Mr. Dumont petitioned the Supervisor, and the current appeal, SPR1811062, was opened. In his petition for an appeal Mr. Dumont, states, "[tlhese submitted minutes represent a vague summary of what took place in an executive session that lasted almost one hour. These minutes say absolutely nothing about the rationale for the executive session, the allegations against the former Interim Town Administrator. Conversations about who made the allegations, what [were] the allegations, what deliberations occurred as a result of the allegations, the settlement reached and any other issues related to the termination of the Administrator." One Ashburton Place, Room 1719, Boston, Massachusetts 02108 * (61 7) 727-2832. Fax: (617) 727-5914 sec.state.ma.us/pre pre@sec.state.ma.us

Mr. William Oelfke Page 2 July 26,20 18 Open Meeting Law It is my understanding that in a July 24th conversation with a Public Records Division staff attorney, Michele Randazzo, Esq. of KP Law, P. C., Town's Legal Counsel, confirmed that no content has been redacted from the executive session meeting minutes. In his petition, Mr. Dumont contends that the minutes are vague and do not contain any information about the issues that led to the executive session and the resulting termination of a former administrator in the Town. Mr. Dumont is advised that the interpretation of the Open Meeting Law falls within the authority of the Office of the Attorney General and not this office. Therefore, I decline to provide a determination as to content of open and executive session meeting minutes. G. L. c. 30A, 5 23. It is recommended that you contact the Division of Open Government within the Office of the Attorney General should you seek a determination on this issue. Accordingly, I consider this administrative appeal closed. Sincerely, Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Mr. Bryan Dumont Ms. Michele Randazzo, Esq.