David Bixby v. Chatham, Town of (SPR 20200257)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supen•isor ofR ecords February 25, 2020 SPR20/0257 Terry Whalen Town of Chatham 549 Main Street Chatham, MA 02633 Dear Mr. Whalen: I have received the petition of David Bixby appealing the response of the Town of Chatham (Town) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § 1O A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Specifically, Mr. Bixby requested "copies of all financial disclosure records signed by Timothy Howard as a municipal employee of the Town of Chatham or its Airport Commission" (balding in original). 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, § 1O (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. 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

Terry Whalen SPR20/0257 Page 2 February 25, 2020 Order In light of further email communication, it is unclear whether all the responsive records have been provided to Mr. Bixby. Accordingly, the Town is ordered to clarify if further responsive records exist, 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, ~ r a ~ Supervisor of Records cc: David Bixby