Paul DeMeo v. Gardner, City of - City Clerk (SPR 20200291)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supen•isor ofR ecords February 27, 2020 SPR20/0291 Alan L. Agnelli City Clerk City of Gardner 95 Pleasant Street Gardner, MA 01440 Dear Mr. Agnelli: I have received the petition of Paul DeMeo appealing the response of the City of Gardner (City) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Specifically, on January 8, 2020, Mr. DeMeo requested communications between the City Law Department, attorney for the City's law office and the City Council. Previous appeals This request was the subject of a previous appeal. SPR20/0122 Determination of the Supervisor of Records (January 31, 2020). The City provided redacted emails and cited the attorney-client privilege. On February 13, 2020, the City provided supplemental emails along with a privilege index to Mr. DeMeo. Unsatisfied with the City's response, Mr. DeMeo petitioned this office and this appeal SPR20/0291 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, tmless 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). One Ashbmion Place, Room 1719, Boston, Massachusetts 02108 • (617) 727-2832• Fax: (617) 727-5914 sec.state.ma.us/pre • pre@sec.statc.ma.us

Alan L. Agnelli SPR20/0291 Page2 February 27, 2020 The City's February J3th Response In its February 13th response, the City sent Mr. DeMeo 72 pages of emails and a privilege log summarizing the 72 pages of emails. The privilege log detailed the page numbers, date, author, primary and additional recipients, status/content and the privilege status. The City has claimed that some of the 2019 emails have been redacted and are attorney-client communications protected entirely under the common law attorney-client privilege. In his February 13th appeal to this office Mr. DeMeo states, "I further appeal and ask that your office take direct action to force compliance with the 'Public Records' request." Pursuant to 950 C.M.R 32.08(1)(£), this appeal does not describe the nature of the requestor's objections to the response. Please be aware that the request must reasonably describe the records sought. G. L. c. 66, § lO(a)(i). Consequently, where it appears that Mr. DeMeo has received the emails he requested along with a detailed privilege log, it is unclear what the basis of his appeal is. Mr. DeMeo may wish to clarify this matter and his objections to the City's response. Sincerely, ~ r r ~ Supervisor of Records cc: Paul DeMeo