Linda Lessard v. Billerica, Town of (SPR 20181374)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor ofR ecords September 27, 2018 SPRlS/1374 Mr. Mark LaLumiere Building Commissioner Town of Billerica 365 Boston Road Billerica, MA 01821 Dear Mr. LaLumiere: I have received the petition from Linda Lessard appealing the response from the Town of Billerica (Town) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § lOA; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Ms. Lessard made a public records request on June 22, 2018 to the Town requesting documents pertaining to the "all records maintained that include special permits and/or variances for new home constructions between 2013-2018" as well as records related to Mullberry Lane. Ms. Lessard appealed the Town's nonresponse to this office via email on September 12, 2018. Public Records Law 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 ofreceipt 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, § lO(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 ofrecords 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 of the public record sought, if known. See G. L. c. 66, § lO(b) (iii). 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, § 1 O(b )(iv). Any non-exempt, segregable portion of a public record is subject to mandatory 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

Mr. Mark LaLumiere SPRl 8/1374 Page 2 September 27, 2018 disclosure. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(a ); Reinstein v. Police Comm'r of Boston, 3 78 Mass. 281, 289- 90 (1979) (the statutory exemptions are narrowly construed and are not blanket in nature). Appeal The Town had multiple conversations with Ms. Lessard to try and provide records, yet it appears there is still an issue with providing her the requested records. 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 ofrecords 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 of the public record sought, if known. See G. L. c. 66, § lO(b )(iii). Conclusion Accordingly, the Town is ordered to review the requests made by Ms. Lessard and provide any requested records in accordance with the Public Records Law, its Access Regulations and this order 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. Failure to do so may result in referral of this matter to the Office of the Attorney General (AGO). See G. L. c. 66, § 1O A(b ). Sincerely, Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Linda Lessard