Daniel Bernstein v. Brookline, Town of - Town Clerk (SPR 20201899)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records October 5, 2020 SPR20/1899 Patrick Ward Town Clerk 333 Washington Street 1st Floor, Room 104 Brookline, MA 02445 Dear Mr. Ward: I have received the petition of Daniel Bernstein appealing the nonresponse of the Town of Brookline (Town) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Specifically, on September 17, 2020, Mr. Bernstein requested a copy of the “2019 Brookline Street List of Persons” in a format “that can be imported into a spreadsheet program.” 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, § l0A(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 theNorfolk 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. Conclusion Subsequent to the intervention by a staff member of the Public Records Division, I learned that the Town provided Mr. Bernstein a response dated October 5, 2020. 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

SPR20/1899 Patrick Ward Page 2 October 5, 2020 In light of the Town’s October 5th response, I will now consider this administrative appeal closed. Mr. Bernstein may appeal the substantive nature of the Town’s response within ninety days. See 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Sincerely, Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Daniel Bernstein Chris Tisbert