Brad Petrishen v. Worcester City Clerk (SPR 20181575)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records November 8, 2018 SPRlS/1575 Joshua Martunas City of Worcester 455 Main Street - Room 309 Worcester, MA 01608 Dear Mr. Martunas: I have received the petition of Brad Petrishen appealing the response of the City of Worcester (City) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § lOA; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Specifically, Mr. Petrishen requested "internal affairs documentation about Officer Smith" and "information about his work/[pay] status in the city." Initially on July 30, 2018, the City responded to the request, stating, "the city possesses no responsive records" for the first part of Mr. Petrishen's response, and denied the second part citing Exemption (c) of the Public Records Law. G. L. c. 4, § 7(26)(c). Mr. Petrishen appealed the City's denial of access to responsive records. 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 or 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, § lO(b)(iv) (written response must "identify 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 ... "); 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). 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

Joshua Martunas SPR18/1575 Page2 November 8, 2018 Conclusion Subsequent to the intervention by a member of the Public Records Division, this office was notified that a supplemental response was provided, dated November 8, 2018. In light of this response that provides additional information regarding the City's exemption claims, I will now consider this administrative appeal closed. Mr. Petrishen may appeal the substantive nature of the City's response within ninety days. See 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Sincerely, Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Brad Petrishen