Duane Galbi v. Wayland, Town of (SPR 20192089)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor ofR ecords October 25, 2019 SPR19/2089 Louise L. E. Miller Town Administrator Town of Wayland 41 Cochituate Road Wayland, MA 01778 Dear Ms. Miller: I have received the petition of Duane Gal bi appealing the response of the Town of Wayland (Town) to his request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § lOA; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Specifically, Mr. Galbi requested "information about the users of the Wayland Community Garden, as well as associated communication with these garden users." The Town responded providing responsive records. Claiming to not have received all the responsive records, Mr. Galbi petitioned this office and this appeal was opened as a result. 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). In light of the issues raised in Mr. Gal bi's appeal regarding the existence of responsive records, I find it is unclear if all responsive records have been provided. If such records were destroyed, the Town must demonstrate whether it followed proper records retention protocol. Please note the Town must institute safeguards to ensure that all records are retained in accordance with both applicable law as well as the retention schedules promulgated by this office. G. L. c. 66, §§ 1, 8, 13, 15. I advise the Town to review the records retention materials available online at www.sec.state.ma.us/arc/arcrmu/rmuidx.htm. Conclusion Accordingly, the Town is ordered to provide Mr.Galbi with a written response. Said response shall be made in accordance with the Public Records Law, its Access Regulations and 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

Louise L. Miller SPR19/2089 Page 2 October 25, 2019 this order within ten business days. It is preferable to send an electronic copy of this response to this office at pre@sec.state.ma.us. Mr. Galbi may appeal the substantive nature of the Town's response within ninety days. See 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Sincerely, ~~ Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Duane Galbi