Paul McLaughlin v. Adams, Town of - Town Clerk (SPR 20200865)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records June 11, 2020 SPR20/0865 Haley Meczywor Town Clerk Town of Adams 8 Park Street Adams, MA 01220 Dear Ms. Meczywor: I have received the petition of Catherine Foster appealing the response of the Town of Adams (Town) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Specifically, on May 7, 2020, Ms. Foster requested: “1. All written materials in any format written by or to any town administrator or employee where my name or address was identified or discussed from October, 2019 through the present time. [including] communications to/from but are not limited to [six identified individuals] 2. All documents maintained by the Building and Health Departments relating to [a specific address], including notices about the fire escapes sent to the prior owner in 2004.” 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) (written response must “identify any records, categories of records or portions of records that the agency or municipality intends to withhold, and provide the specific reasons for such withholding, including the specific exemption or exemptions upon which the withholding is based…”); 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 Ashburton Place, Room 1719, Boston, Massachusetts 02108 • (617) 727-2832• Fax: (617) 727-5914 sec.state.ma.us/pre • pre@sec.state.ma.us

Haley Meczywor SPR20/0865 Page 2 June 11, 2020 The Town’s May 19th - 26th Responses The Town responded on May 19th and advised that “[t]he Board of Health minutes and agendas are posted on the Town’s website.” On May 20th, the Town sent the documents requested from the Building Department and advised, “[t]he Building Department’s portion of the records request is complete.” On May 26th the Town asserted that the “two documents that contain the May 7, 2020 FOI request [are attached]. The FOI request [is] now … completed.” In her appeal, Ms. Foster states, “[a]lthough I have received some documents … I have not received everything I have asked for. I have not received any text messages, some emails and all prior inspection reports completed on the property in question.” Based on the Town's response, it is remains unclear whether the Town possesses any additional responsive records. The Town must clarify what records it has in its possession, custody or control that are responsive to Ms. Foster’s request. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(b)(iv); 950 C.M.R. 32.06(3)(c)(4) (a records access officer must provide a written response that identifies the record, categories of records, or portions of the record it intends to withhold). . Conclusion Accordingly, the Town is ordered to provide a response to Ms. Foster consistent with this order, the Public Records Law, and its Access Regulations as soon as is practicable. It is preferable to send an electronic copy of this response to this office at pre@sec.state.ma.us. Sincerely, Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Catherine Foster