Scott C. Holmes v. Bourne, Town of (SPR 20191770)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division

Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records

September 12, 2019 SPR19/1770

Mr. Barry Johnson

Town of Bourne

24 Perry Avenue

Buzzards Bay, MA 02532

Dear Mr. Johnson:

I have received the petition of Scott Holmes appealing the nonresponse of the Town of Bourne (Town) to a request for public records, G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Specifically, on March 25, 2019, Mr. Holmes requested all correspondence, emails, records, reports, diagrams and notes prepared by all Certified Park Safety Inspector consultants retained by the Town to inspect an identified park, playground and splash pad from January 1, 2017 through March 15, 2019, Having received no response, Mr. Holmes 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, § 10A(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, § 10(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, § 10(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

Mr. Barry Johnson SPR19/1770 Page 2 September 12, 2019

Order

Despite being notified of the opening of this appeal, no response has been provided. Accordingly, the Town is ordered to provide Mr. Holmes 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.

Rowen

Rebecca. S. Murray Supervisor of Records

cc: Scott Holmes