Craig Lampert v. Georgetown, Town of - Town Clerk (SPR 20201958)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records October 26, 2020 SPR20/1958 Keri Ann McManus Town Clerk Town of Georgetown 1 Library Street Georgetown, MA 01833 Dear Ms. McManus: I have received the petition of Craig Lampert appealing the response of the Town of Georgetown (Town) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Specifically, Mr. Lampert requested Town Board of Selectmen minutes “on the topic of…the Disclaimer of Interest AFSCME Council 93 and the Town of Georgetown, the Full- Time, Part-Time, on-call Firefighters Unit and activities of the Union, between the dates of October 1, 2016 and July 1, 2019.” The Town responded on October 6, 2020, providing responsive records. Unsatisfied with the Town’s response, Mr. Lampert petitioned this office and this appeal, SPR20/1958, 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. 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

Kerri Ann McManus SPR20/1958 Page 2 October 26, 2020 Current Appeal In its October 6th response, the Town provided a copy of minutes dated July 18, 2016, February 27, 2017, and January 7, 2019. In his appeal petition, Mr. Lampert alleges that the Town has failed to adequately respond to his request “by producing ‘Draft’ minutes that do not have sufficient documentation of what transpired within the sessions.” Mr. Lampert also raises concerns regarding the authenticity of one of the provided documents. Based on Mr. Lampert’s petition and the Town’s response, it is unclear whether the Town possesses additional records that are responsive to his request. The Town must clarify this matter. 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, § l0(a)(ii). To the extent that additional records exist, they must be provided in a manner consistent with the Public Records Law. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(b). Conclusion Accordingly, the Town is ordered to provide a response to Mr. Lampert, provided in a manner consistent with this order, the Public Records Law and its Regulations within ten 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: Craig Lampert