Amy Friedman v. Malden City Clerk's Office (SPR 20201583)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records September 21, 2020 SPR20/1583 Greg Lucey City Clerk City of Malden 110 Pleasant Street, First Floor Malden, MA 02148 Dear Mr. Lucey: I have received the petition of Bruce Friedman appealing the response of the City of Malden (City) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Specifically, on August 10, 2020, Mr. Friedman requested “. . . the video recordings of all school committee meetings from January 1, 2020 through the date you answer this request.” The City provided a response on August 24, 2020, which included a link to the responsive records. Unsatisfied with the City’s response, Mr. Friedman petitioned this office and this appeal, SPR20/1583, 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. 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. 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

Greg Lucey SPR20/1583 Page 2 September 21, 2020 Current appeal In its August 24th response, the City provides “…[a]ll the video of Malden School Committee meetings held in 2020 up to August 23, 2020 can be found on this link…” and inserted a link to access the requested videos online. In his appeal petition, Mr. Friedman claims “[t]he website that they refer to does not allow the videos to be downloaded, and as such re unusable. The City is required to provide them in the format that they are maintained by the City, and as we are aware, these meetings were physically recorded by the City Council on Zoom.” Where Mr. Friedman has confirmed he was provided a link to the requested records, I find the basis of Ms. Friedman’s appeal unclear. Please be advised, if the public record requested is available on a public website or any other appropriately indexed and searchable public website, the records access officer may furnish the public record by providing reasonable assistance in locating the requested record on the public website. G. L. c. 66, § 6A (d). Conclusion In compliance with the Public Records Law, the Supervisor of Records may issue determinations where a violation of G. L. c. 66, § 10 has occurred. G. L. c. 66, § 10A(a). Given that no violation of G. L. c. 66, § 10 has been asserted by Mr. Friedman in his appeal petition, I am unable to issue a determination at this time. If Mr. Friedman is not satisfied with the resolution of this administrative appeal, please be advised that this office shares jurisdiction with the Superior Court of the Commonwealth. See G. L. c. 66, § l0A(c). Sincerely, Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Bruce Friedman