Stevan Johnson v. Saugus, Town of (SPR 20192209)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray S11pe111isor of Records November 14, 2019 SPR19/2209 Christine Moreschi Town of Saugus 298 Central Street Saugus, MA O1 906 Dear Christine Moreschi: I have received the petition of Stevan Johnson appealing the nonresponse of the Town of Saugus (Town) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § lOA; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1) Specifically on October 15, 2019, Mr. Johnson requested, "any records in the possession, custody, or control your City or Town relative to the newspaper publication of (i) ordinances or bylaws and/or (ii) rules and orders, for the regulation of carriages and vehicles used therein for the conveyance of persons from place to place for hire." 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. Subsequent to the intervention by a staff member of the Public Records Division, I learned that the Town provided Mr. Johnson a response. Specifically, in an email dated November 13, 2019 you state, "Mr. Johnson emailed our clerk and she was unsure on what he was asking for in his request. I did email him back asking for more detailed information on what he was asking for in his request so we could assist him. We have been awaiting a response so we can help him with his request, but I have not received an email back from Mr. Johnson with any more details on his request." 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

SPR19/2209 Christine Moreschi Page 2 November 14, 2019 Conclusion This office encourages Mr. Johnson 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) In light of the Town's November 13th letter, I will now consider this administrative appeal closed. Mr. Johnson 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: Stevan Johnson