Travis A. Do Rosario v. Uxbridge, Town of - Town Clerk (SPR 20181674)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records November 27,20 18 SPRl811674 Kelly J. Dumas Town of Uxbridge 2 1 South Main Street Uxbridge, MA 0 15 69 Dear Ms. Dumas: I have received the petition of Travis Ann Do Rosario appealing the nonresponse of the Town of Uxbridge (Town) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66 5 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Specifically, Mr. Do Rosario requested "[c]opies of the Meeting Minutes for the Trustees of the Soldiers Memorials for the following dates: January 22, 201 8 April 2,2018 May 7,201 8." Having received no response, Mr. Do Rosario petitioned this office. Tlze 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 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, 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 10(b)(iv); 950 C.M.R. 32.06(3); see also Dist. Attorney for the Norfolk Dist. v. Flatley, 41 9 Mass. 507, 5 11 (1 995) (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, 5 lO(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 021 08 (617) 727-2832. Fax: (617) 727-5914 sec.state.ma.us/pre pre@sec.state.ma.us

Kelly J. Dumas Page 2 November 27,201 8 Order Despite being notified of the acknowledgement of this appeal and communications from a member of the Public Records Division staff, no response has been provided. Accordingly, the Town is ordered to provide Mr. Do Rosario 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: Travis A. Do Rosario