Colman Herman v. Taunton, City of - City Clerk (SPR 20191880)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records September 26, 2019 SPR19/1880 Rose Marie Blackwell City Clerk City of Taunton 141 Oak Street Taunton, MA 02780 Dear Ms. Blackwell : I have received the petition from Colman Herman appealing the response of the City of Taunton City Clerk's Office (City) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § lOA; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Mr. Herman made a public records request on August 6, 2019 to the City. for "hard copies and electronic copies of any and all communications related to the (City) Mayor appointment as interim register of probate in Bristol County" and the state "Representative candidacy for mayor of Taunton." The City provided Mr. Herman with a response on September 6, 2019. Mr. Herman subsequently requested an appeal to this office on September 14, 2019. Public Records Law Under the Public Records Law and the Access Regulations (Regulations) all requests for public records must be met with a response within ten business days of receipt of the request. G. L. c. 66, § 10(a)-(b). The response may contain, among other things, an.offer to provide records, a fee estimate for provision of the records, or a denial. G. L. c. 66, § 1O (b ). All records custodians must comply with both the Public Records Law and the Regulations with respect to the timeliness of response. When withholding requested records, a records custodian is required to provide a response that identifies "any records, categories of records or p01iions 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." G. L. c. 66, § 1O (b )(iv). Any non-exempt, segregable portion of a public record is subject to mandatory disclosure. See G. L. c. 66, § lO(a); Reinstein v. Police Comm'r of Boston, 378 Mass. 281, 289- 90 (1979) (the statutory exemptions are narrowly construed and are not blanket in nature). 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

Rose Marie Blackwell SPR19/1880 Page 2 September 26, 2019 Appeal The City provided email responses to Mr. Herman on September 6th and 12th of2019 regarding his records request. The City indicated in their September 121h email to Mr. Herman that "after inquiry of both the Office of the Mayor and the Office of the City Clerk, a diligent search has been made and there are no further records responsive to your request." Regarding Mr. Herman's concerns over the "letter" with the City, the City explains "that [the] Mayor is not and has not been in possession of any such letter, if such a letter exists." The duty to comply with requests for records extends to those records that exist and are in the possession, custody, or control of the custodian ofrecords at the time of the request. See G. L. c. 66, § 1O (a)(ii), (b )(ii). · Conclusion Based on the City's September 12th response, I find the City has met its burden in responding to this request. See G. L. c. 66, § 1O (b )(ii)-(iii). Sincerely, Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Colman Herman