Chris M. Grant v. Uxbridge, Town of - Town Manager (SPR 20200563)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records April 1, 2020 SPR20/0563 Kelly Cote Town Clerk Town of Uxbridge 21 South Main Street Uxbridge, MA 01569 Dear Ms. Cote: I have received the petition of Chris Grant appealing the response of the Town of Uxbridge (Town) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Specifically, Mr. Grant requested “…the former employees exit interviews performed in 2018 and/or 2019 along with any reports related to them.” Previous appeals This request was the subject of previous appeals. See SPR19/1237 Determination of the Supervisor of Records (July 1, 2019); SPR19/2361 Determination of the Supervisor of Records (December 31, 2019); SPR20/0121 Determination of the Supervisor of Records (February 3, 2020); SPR20/0213 Determination of the Supervisor of Records (February 14, 2020); SPR20/0301 Determination of the Supervisor of Records (March 2, 2020). The Town provided an unredacted copy of the Exit Interview Summary as a result of a request from the Supervisor for an in camera review and I thank the Town for its cooperation. 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, § 10A(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, § 10(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 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

Kelly Cote SPR20/0563 Page 2 April 1, 2020 must not only cite an exemption, but must also state why the exemption applies to the withheld or redacted portion of the responsive record. The Town’s responses On January 15th the Town provided an amended Exit Interview Summary and on March 10th provided a second amended Exit Interview Summary to Mr. Grant. In the Town’s previous response, the Town cited Exemption (c) of the Public Records Law in support of its redactions. Under the first clause of Exemption (c), the Town claimed that personnel files are exempt from disclosure; under the second clause, the Town cited the implication of privacy interests. Current Appeal In his March 19th email, Mr. Grant states, “I am requesting an appeal to the determination by your office that was issued on March 2, 2020.” This appeal, SPR20/0563, was opened as a result. After a review of the file, it is unclear what Mr. Grant has appealed. Although Mr. Grant references the Office of the Attorney General (AGO), he has not sufficiently described the basis for referring this matter to the AGO for enforcement, particularly in light of the March 10th response from the Town. See G.L. c. 66, § 10A(b), As a result, Mr. Grant has not adequately described the type of action he seeks from this office. See 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1)(f) (all petitions for appeal shall be in writing and shall specifically describe the nature of the requestor's objections to the response.) Mr. Grant may resubmit an appeal to this office once the appeal has been clarified. Sincerely, Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Chris M. Grant