Collin Dias v. Fall River, City of - Office of the City Clerk (SPR 20201821)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records October 13, 2020 SPR20/1821 Alison Bouchard City Clerk Fall River City Clerk’s Office One Government Center Fall River, MA 02722 Dear Ms. Bouchard: I have received the petition of Collin Dias appealing the nonresponse of the Fall River City 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, on September 10, 2020, Mr. Dias requested “[a]ll emails to and from the email address msahady@fallriverma.org with the following key words: PAYT Pay as you Throw Purple Bag Purple Bags Trash Fee Waste Zero I ask for all records from January of 2016 through November of 2019.” Claiming to not yet have received a response, Mr. Dias 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. 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

Alison Bouchard SPR20/1821 Page 2 October 13, 2020 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. Order Despite being notified of the opening of this appeal from a member of the Public Records Division staff, no response has been provided. Accordingly, the Office is ordered to provide Mr. Dias with a response to the request, provided 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. Mr. Dias may appeal the substantive nature of the Office’s response within ninety (90) days. See 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Sincerely, Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Collin Dias