Susan T. Munford v. Kingston, Town of - Town Administrator (SPR 20200653)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records April 27, 2020 SPR20/653 Thomas Calter III Kingston Town Administrator Town Hall 26 Evergreen Street Kingston, MA 02364 Dear Thomas Calter III: I have received the petition of Susan T. Munford appealing the nonresponse of the Town of Kingston (Town) to requests for public records. G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Specifically, on February 18, 2020 Ms. Munford requested records concerning “an October 29, 2019, Board of Selectmen meeting.” On February 19, 2020, Ms. Munford sent a follow up letter to the Town requesting the minutes “of all open an executive session for that October 29, 2019 meeting.” 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 must not only cite an exemption, but must also state why the exemption applies to the withheld or redacted portion of the responsive record. As of the date of this letter, it is my understanding that the Town has not provided Ms. Munford a response to her requests for 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

Thomas Calter III SPR20/0653 Page 2 April 27, 2020 Order Accordingly, the Town is ordered to provide Ms. Munford with a written response. Said response must be made in accordance with the Public Records Law, its Access Regulations and this order as soon as practicable. It is preferable to send an electronic copy of this response to this office at pre@sec.state.ma.us. Ms. Munford may appeal the substantive nature of the Town’s response within ninety days. See 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Sincerely, Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Susan T. Munford