Paul G. Hardiman, Jr. v. South Deerfield Fire District (SPR 20201993)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records October 19, 2020 SPR20/1993 Kevin H. Scarborough South Deerfield Fire District 84 Greenfield Road South Deerfield, MA 01373 Dear Mr. Scarborough: I have received the petition of Paul G. Hardiman Jr. appealing the nonresponse of the South Deerfield Fire District (District) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Specifically, on September 28, 2020, Mr. Hardiman requested “ a copy of the following records from a Company called: Air Cleaning Specialists of New England, LLC, (‘ACS’), which was contracted to perform work on the: South Deerfield Fire District 84 Greenfield Rd South Deerfield MA 01373 in the year of 2020.” 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 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. Conclusion Subsequent to the intervention by a staff member of the Public Records Division, I learned that the District provided Mr. Hardiman a response dated October 16, 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

SPR20/1993 Kevin H. Scarborough Page 2 October 19, 2020 In light of the District’s October 16th letter, I will now consider this administrative appeal closed. Mr. Hardiman may appeal the substantive nature of the District’s response within ninety days. See 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). -- Sincerely, Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Paul G. Hardiman Jr. Chief William J. Swasey