Sheila Ashton v. Westfield, City of - Office of the City Solicitor (SPR 20200018)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records January 16, 2020 SPR20/0018 Robyn Gay Records Access Officer Office of the City Solicitor City of Westfield 59 Court Street, Room 320 Westfield, MA 01085 Dear Ms. Gay: I have received the petition of Sheila Ashton appealing the response of the City of Westfield Office of the City Solicitor (Office) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § lOA; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Specifically, Ms. Ashton requested "a copy of the security tape" regarding an event on September 13, 2019 occurring at the Westfield Intermediate School. The Office was in communication with Ms. Ashton regarding the request, with the latest email sent on November 21, 2019. Claiming to not have received the responsive records, Ms. Ashton petitioned this office and SPR20/0018 was opened as a result. 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) 7:27-5914 sec.state.ma.us/pre • pre@sec.state.ma.us

Robyn Gay SPR20/0018 Page 2 January 16, 2020 Current Appeal In Ms. Ashton's January 6th appeal, she indicates "[t]o date, I have not received all videos requested." Subsequent to the intervention by a staff member of the Public Records Division, I learned that a representative from the Office intends on providing a supplemental response to Ms. Ashton regarding her request. Order . Accordingly, the Office is ordered to provide the requestor with a response to .the request, provided in a manner consistent with this order, the Public Records Law, and its Regulations within 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. Sincerely, ~ r r ~ Supervisor of Records cc: Sheila Ashton