Chad Gibson v. Springfield, City of - Assessor's Office (SPR 20200374)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records March 10, 2020 SPR20/0374 Andrea Stone Public Records Coordinator Springfield Assessors Department City of Springfield 36 Court Street, Room 123 Springfield, MA O1 103 Dear Ms. Stone: I have received the petition of Chad Gibson appealing the response of the City of Springfield (City) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § 1O A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Specifically, Mr. Gibson requested the Town's "[b]oat commitment sheet." The City provided a response on February 25, 2020 indicating that the City had no records responsive to his request. Unsatisfied with the City's response, Mr. Gibson petitioned this office and SPR20/0374 was opened as a result. No duty to create records Under the Public Records Law, the City is not required to create a record in response to a public records request. In addition, a public employee is not required to answer questions, or do research, or create documents in response to questions. See G. L. c. 66, § lO(a); 32 Op. Atty Gen. 157, 165 (May 18, 1977). The duty to comply with requests for information extends only to those records that exist and are in the custody of the custodian of records at the time of the request. See G. L. c. 4, § 7(26). Conclusion Accordingly, whereas the City provided a written response that it does not possesses responsive records to Mr. Gibson's request, I will consider this administrative appeal closed. 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

Andrea Stone SPR20/0374 Page 2 March 10, 2020 Sincerely, Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Chad Gibson