Joel Fleming v. Cambridge, City of - Law Department (SPR 20181256)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records August 31,2018 SPR1811256 Keplin K. U. Allwaters, Esq. Assistant City Solicitor City of Cambridge Office of the City Solicitor 795 Massachusetts Avenue Cambridge, MA 02 139 Dear Attorney Allwaters: I have received the petition of Joel Fleming, Esq. appealing the response of the City of Cambridge (City) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, 5 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Specifically, Attorney Fleming requested all emails sent to or by identified City employee regarding scooters. The City initially responded on August 16,2018 by indicating it needed additional time to respond due to the complexity of the requested documents. Attorney Fleming appealed to this office regarding the additional time needed and any associated costs. 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, 5 10A(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, 5 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, 5 lO(b)(iv); 950 C.M.R. 32.06(3); see also Dist. Attornev for the Norfolk Dist. v. Flatley, 419 Mass. 507, 5 11 (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. Current appeal Subsequent to the opening of this appeal, the City provided a supplemental response on One Ashburton Place, Room 1719, Boston, Massachusetts 02108 (617) 727-2832. Fax: (61 7) 727-5914 sec.state.ma.us/pre pre@sec.state.ma.us

Keplin K. U. Allwaters, Esq. Page 2 August 31,2018 August 29,2018 in which it provides additional information regarding the timeframes associated with producing responsive records. In an email dated August 29,201 8 Attorney Fleming indicates he continues to object to the City's response; in particular, he asserts the City did not comply with G. L. c. 66, 9 10(b). It is my determination that in light of the August 29" response from the City and correspondence from Attorney Fleming later that day, this appeal is closed. The issues raised in Attorney Fleming's August 29th correspondence will be addressed in a subsequent appeal (SPR18/131 9). Sincerely, u Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Joel Fleming, Esq.