Stephen Stoute v. Tewksbury Town Clerk (SPR 20200846)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records June 9, 2020 SPR20/0846 Denise Graffeo Town of Tewksbury Town Hall - Office of the Town Clerk 1009 Main Street Tewksbury, MA 01876 Dear Ms. Graffeo: I have received the petition of Stephen Stoute appealing the nonresponse of the Town of Tewksbury Office of the Town Clerk (Town) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Specifically, on March 12, 2020, Mr. Stoute requested fourteen (14) categories of records related to personnel within the Town. Claiming to not yet have received responsive records, Mr. Stoute petitioned this office and this appeal, SPR20/0846, was opened. Subsequent to the intervention by a staff member of the Public Records Division, I learned that the proper agent for handling public record requests never saw the inquiry as it was sent to an incorrect address. Mr. Stoute should note that public record requests to the Town should be sent to: Town of Tewksbury Town Hall - Office of the Town Clerk 1009 Main Street Tewksbury, MA 01876. The Town has been provided with Mr. Stoute’s request. Accordingly, the Town is ordered to provide Mr. Stoute with a response in accordance with the Public Records Law and its Access Regulations as soon as practicable. It is preferable to send an electronic copy of this response to this office at pre@sec.state.ma.us. Mr. Stoute may appeal the substantive nature of the Town’s response within ninety (90) days. See 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). 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

Ms. Denise Graffeo SPR20/0846 Page 2 June 9, 2020 Sincerely, Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Mr. Stephen Stoute