Cindy L. Christiansen, PhD v. Milton, Town of - Town Clerk (SPR 20201573)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records September 17, 2020 SPR20/1573 Susan M. Galvin Town Clerk Town of Milton 525 Canton Avenue Milton, MA 02186 Dear Ms. Galvin: I have received the petition of Cindy Christiansen appealing the nonresponse of the Milton Town Clerk’s Office (Office) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Specifically, Ms. Christiansen requested: All emails to or from Richard Wells related to me (Cindy Christiansen) including but not limited to correspondence with the Norfolk District Attorney’s office Andy Schmidt (all email accounts), Peter I Dunn (all email accounts), or Thomas Dougherty (all email accounts). After checking with the Secretary of State, [I learned that] Mr. Wells must supply emails from his Town of Milton AND his personal [email] account(s) because of the evidence he uses a personal account for Town business. This requests covers the period between 6/1/2018 and today 4/24/19. Having received no response, she petitioned this office. 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 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

Susan M. Galvin SPR20/1573 Page 2 September 17, 2020 must not only cite an exemption, but must also state why the exemption applies to the withheld or redacted portion of the responsive record. 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, no response has been provided. Accordingly, the Office is ordered to provide Ms. Christiansen with a response to the request, provided in a manner consistent with this order, the Public Records Law and its Regulations within ten (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: Cindy L. Christiansen