Brian Keaney v. Dedham, Town of - Public Library (SPR 20202267)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records December 3, 2020 SPR20/2267 Paul M. Munchbach Town Clerk/Records Access Officer Dedham Town Hall 450 Washington Street Dedham, MA Dear Mr. Munchbach: I have received the petition of Brian Keaney appealing the response of the Town of Dedham (Town) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Specifically, on August 6, 2020, Mr. Keaney requested, 1) The minutes of all meetings of the Board of Library Trustees since May 28, 2020. 2) A document titled "Response to Brian Keaney OML Complaint of 7-27-2020," which was signed by former [named] Trustees [which] states that "...members of the board resigned at different times over the course of more than 24 hours as confirmed by emails sent to one another [and] copies of those emails mentioned.” 3) The same document says that the former trustees received legal counsel and quotes from it [and] … copy of that opinion. 4) Any emails sent in the last six months sent by a member of the trustees that includes a quorum of trustees. Previous appeals This request was the subject of previous appeals. See SPR20/1331 Determination of the Supervisor of Records (August 10, 2020); SPR20/1937 Determination of the Supervisor of Records (October 22, 2020); SPR20/2075 Determination of the Supervisor of Records (November 9, 2020). Having not received a response to all requested records, Mr. Keaney appealed and SPR20/2267 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 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

Paul M. Munchbach SPR20/2267 Page 2 December 3, 2020 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(d)(iv) (written response must “identify any records, categories of records or portions of records that the agency or municipality intends to withhold, and provide the specific reasons for such withholding, including the specific exemption or exemptions upon which the withholding is based…”); 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). Current Appeal In his November 19, 2020 appeal, Mr. Keaney stated, “I received a copy of the minutes I requested and am now satisfied with that request. Despite reaching out to the Assistant Town Manager and Town Counsel, however, I have received no response on any of the other three sets of documents. I thus regretfully re-appeal and ask you to compel the Town to produce them.” It is unclear if the Town possesses the records requested by Mr. Keaney. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(a)(ii), (b)(ii), (iii). 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, § 10(a)(ii), (b)(ii). Also, the duty to comply with requests for records extends to identifying the agency or municipality that may be in possession, custody, or control of the public record sought, if known. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(b)(iii). If the records are within the Town's possession and they intend to withhold the documents an exemption must be provided as stated above. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(b )(iv) (custodian has the burden of establishing the applicability of an exemption). Accordingly, the Town is to review the requests made by Mr. Keaney and provide any requested records in accordance with the Public Records Law and its Access Regulations as soon as pacticable. 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: Brian Keaney