Stanley Mazurczyk v. Chelmsford, Town of - Chief Assessor (SPR 20191985)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor ofR ecords October 15, 2018 SPR19/1985 Frank T. Reen Chief Assessor Town of Chelmsford 50 Billerica Road Chelmsford, MA O1 824 Dear Mr. Reen: I have received the petition of Stanley Mazurczyk appealing the response of the Town of Chelmsford (Town) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § lOA; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). In an email to the Town dated August 23, 2019 Mr. Mazurczyk states, "I'm sending you a copy of the Appellate Tax Board (ATB) appeal via US mail and am attaching copy thereof in this email. I don't know if ATB recognizes email delivered appeals (Certificate of Service). Please confirm receipt copy of both, US mail and email delivered appeals." In a follow-up email dated September 15, 2019 Mr. Mazurczyk states, "[please email me time stamped records I sent you referenced in the email below." 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); 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. 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

Frank T. Reen SPR19/1985 Page 2 October 15, 2019 Current Appeal In an email to Mr. Mazurczyk dated September 16, 2019 you state, "[a]t this point Mr. Mazurczyk I'm going to ask that you formally submit your request through the p01ial available on the Town's website." Unsatisfied by this response, Mr. Mazurczyk petitioned this office and as a result SPR19/1985 was opened. In a letter to this office dated September 30, 2019, Mr. Mazurczyk writes, "[o]n August 23, 2019 I requested the Town of Chelmsford Assessor, Mr. Reen, confirm receipt of documents I sent him, his office. That confirmation didn't come. On September 15, 2019 I requested Mr. Reen provides time stamped copies of documents I sent him. On September 16, 2019 Mr. Reen informed me that I use alternate method ofrequesting these documents." Please be advised, 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, § lO(a)(ii). It is unclear if the Town processes records responsive to Mr. Mazurczyk's request. Conclusion In light of the Town's September 16th response, this office encourages Mr. Mazurczyk and the Town to continue to communicate to facilitate providing records more efficiently and affordably. See G. L. c. 66, § lO(b)(vii) (a 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 agency to produce records sought more efficiently and affordably). Any updated fee estimate by the Depatiment must be in compliance with this determination, the Public Records Law, and its Access Regulations. Please note, in accordance with the Public Records Law, a custodian is expected to use his superior knowledge of the records in his custody to assist the requester in obtaining the desired information. Sincerely, ~~ Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Stanley Mazurczyk