Andrew McIsaac v. Bridgewater, Town of - Fire Department (SPR 20181527)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor ofR ecords October 22, 2018 SPRlS/1527 Chief Thomas D. Levy Bridgewater Fire Department 22 School Street Bridgewater, MA 02324 Dear Chief Levy: I have received the petition of Andrew Mclsaac appealing the nomesponse of the Bridgewater Fire Department (Department) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § lOA; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Specifically, Mr. Mclsaac requested all policies and memoranda concerning the treatment/transport of patients of an identified hospital. Having received no response, Mr. Mclsaac petitioned this office. 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, § lOA(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 ot 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, § 1 O(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, § 1O (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

Chief Thomas D. Levy SPR18/1527 Page 2 October 22, 2018 Order The Department informed this office that it had been willing to speak with Mr. Mclsaac regarding his request to discuss security issues. In addition, correspondence from a Department employee was provided to the Chief, but it is unclear if that information was provided to Mr. Mqlsaac. Accordingly, the Department is ordered to provide Mr. Mclsaac with a response to the request, provided in a manner consistent with this order, the Public Records Law and its Regulations within ten (10) 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. Sincerely, Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Andrew Mcisaac