Gary Winitzer v. Royalston, Town of - Town Clerk (SPR 20201452)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records September 2, 2020 SPR20/1452 Barbara Richardson Town Clerk/RAO Officer Town of Royalston 5 School Street, P.O. Box 127 Royalston, MA 01368 Dear Ms. Richardson: I have received the petition of Gary Winitzer appealing the response of the Town of Royalston (Town) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Specifically, on July 13, 2020, Mr. Winitzer requested “records from the Select Board and Building Committee concerning the building known as the ‘Raymond School’ from January 9, 2020 through July 10, 2020.” The Town responded, providing the responsive records on August 22, 2020. Unsatisfied with this response, Mr. Winitzer petitioned this office and this appeal, SPR 20/1452, was opened as a result. Current Appeal In his appeal petition, Mr. Winitzer states that the Town’s response was incomplete. Additional Responsive Records The duty to comply with requests for records extends to those records that exist and are in the possession, custody, or control of the custodian of records at the time of the request. See G.L. c. 66, § 10(a)(ii) (written response must “identify any public records or categories of public records sough that are within the possession, custody, or control of the agency”). Based on Mr. Winitzer’s petition, it is unclear whether the Town possesses additional records responsive to his request. I find the Town must clarify this matter. I understand a Public Records Division staff attorney contacted your office regarding this appeal. 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

Barbara Richardson SPR20/1452 Page 2 September 2, 2020 Conclusion Accordingly, the Town is ordered to provide Mr. Winitzer with a response in a manner consistent with this order, the Public 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: Gary Winitzer