Jonathan Etesse v. Belmont, Town of (SPR 20200162)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Gomm onw ealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records February 11, 2020 SPR20/160, SPR20/161, SPR20/162, SPR20/163, SPR20/164 Ellen Cushman City of Belmont Town Hall 455 Concord Avenue Belmont, MA 02478 Dear Ms. Cushman: I have received the petition of Attorney Jonathan Etesse appealing the nonresponse of the City of Belmont (City) to requests for public records. G. L. c. 66 § 1O A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Specifically, on January 13, 2020, Attorney Etesse made five (5) identical requests for records regarding five (5) identified City employees. Having received no response, he petitioned this office. 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 pmiion of the responsive record. If there are any fees associated with a response a written, good faith estimate must be provided. G. L. c. 66, § 1O (b )(viii); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.07(2). Once fees are paid, a records custodian must provide the responsive records. 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

Ellen Cushman SPR20/160, SPR20/161, SPR20/162 Page 2 SPR20/163, SPR20/164 February 11, 2020 Order Accordingly, the City is ordered to provide Attorney Etesse with a response to the requests, provided in a manner consistent with this order, the Public Records Law and its Regulations within ten (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, Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Jonathan Etesse, Esq.