Paul DeMeo v. Gardner, City of (SPR 20191681)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray S11pe11>isor of Records August 26, 2019 SPR19/1681 Mark P. Hawke Mayor City of Gardner 95 Pleasant Street, Room 125 Gardner, MA 01440 Dear Mayor Hawke: I have received the petition of Paul DeMeo appealing the response of the City of Gardner (City) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § 1O A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1 ). Specifically, Mr. DeMeo contacted the City asking "who is the official person .... " that runs a Facebook page. The City responded on August 8, 2019 informing Mr. DeMeo that they have "no public records" relative to Mr. DeMeo's request. Unsatisfied with the City's response, Mr. DeMeo petitioned this office and this administrative appeal was opened as a result. 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, § 1O (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. Current appeal The City responded to Mr. DeMeo's inquiry via email on August 8, 2019. In their response, a representative from the City notes that they "have no public records relative to" Mr. One Ashbmion Place, Room 1719, Boston, Massachusetts 02108 • (617) 727-2832• Fax: (617) 727-5914 sec.state.ma.us/pre • pre@sec.state.ma.us

Mayor Hawke SPR19/1681 Page2 August 26, 2019 DeMeo's request. It should be noted that the Facebook page subject to this inquiry is titled "Gardner City Hall" and the City's website includes a hyperlink to the page. As such, it is unclear whether an exhaustive search was performed or if the requested records exist. This office encourages Mr. DeMeo and the City to continue to communicate to facilitate providing records more efficiently and affordably. For example, Mr. DeMeo may wish to clarify with more specificity which records he seeks. See G. L. c. 66, § lO(a)(i) (the request must reasonably describe the public record sought); G. L. c. 66, § lO(b)(vii) (an municipality shall suggest a reasonable modification of the scope of the request or offer to assist the requestor to modify the scope of the request if doing so would enable the municipality to produce records sought more efficiently and affordably). Conclusion The City is to provide Mr. DeMeo with a supplemental written response in accordance with this determination, the Public Records Law and its regulc:ttions within 10 business days. It is preferable to send an electronic copy of pertinent correspondence to this office at pre@sec.state.ma.us. If issues remain unresolved, Mr. DeMeo may appeal within ninety days. See 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Accordingly, I will consider this administrative appeal closed .. Sincerely, Rebecca S. MmTay Supervisor of Records cc: Paul DeMeo