Suresh Bhatia v. Dedham, Town of - Town Clerk (SPR 20201367)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records August 26, 2020 SPR20/1367 Leon Goodwin Town Manager Town of Dedham 450 Washington Street Dedham, MA 02026 Dear Mr. Goodwin: I have received the petition of Mr. Suresh Bhatia of Atlantic Construction & Management, Inc., appealing the nonresponse of the Town of Dedham (Town) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Specifically, on July 20, 2020, Mr. Bhatia requested “copies of the presentation for the Public Safety Project made to the Board of Selectmen on July 16, 2020 along with all backup data, files, emails, phone logs, text messages, etc that were used to create the information presented.” Claiming to not yet have received a response, Mr. Bhatia petitioned this office and this appeal was opened as a result. 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. 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

Leon Goodwin SPR20/1367 Page 2 August 26, 2020 If there are any fees associated with a response a written, good faith estimate must be provided. G. L. c. 66, § 10(b)(viii); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.07(2). Once fees are paid, a records custodian must provide the responsive records. Order Despite being notified of the opening of this appeal, the Town has yet to provide a response with respect to Mr. Bhatia’s request. Accordingly, the Town is ordered to provide Mr. Bhatia with a response to the request, provided in a manner consistent with this order, the Public Records Law, and its Regulations as soon as practicable. A copy of any such response must be provided to this office. It is preferable to send an electronic copy of this response to this office at pre@sec.state.ma.us. Mr. Bhatia may appeal the substantive nature of the Town’s response within ninety (90) days. See 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Sincerely, Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Suresh Bhatia Paul Munchbach