Greg Gallant v. Methuen, City of (SPR 20201435)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records September 4, 2020 SPR20/1435 John J. Wilson, Jr. City of Methuen The Searles Building 41 Pleasant Street Methuen, MA 01844 Dear Mr. Wilson: I have received the petition of Greg Gallant appealing the response of the City of Methuen (City) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Specifically, on July 21, 2020, Mr. Gallant requested “any video, transcription, and minutes of the EMERGENCY SPECIAL MEETING/EXECUTIVE SESSION MONDAY, JULY 13th 2020 AT 6:00 P.M.” 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). Order Despite being notified of the opening of this appeal, the City has yet to provide a response with respect to Mr. Gallant’s request. Accordingly, the City is ordered to provide Mr. Gallant with a response to the request, provided in a manner consistent with this order, the Public 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

John J. Wilson, Jr. SPR20/1435 Page 2 September 4, 2020 Records Law and its Regulations within 10 business days. 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. Sincerely, Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Greg Gallant