Eileen W. Mooney v. Great Barrington, Town of - Housing Authority (SPR 20202362)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records December 14, 2020 SPR20/2362 Madonna Meagher Great Barrington Housing Authority 2 Bernard Gibbons Drive Great Barrington, MA 01230 Dear Ms. Meagher: I have received the petition of Eileen Mooney appealing the response of the Great Barrington Housing Authority (GBHA) a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Specifically, on November 18, 2020, Ms. Mooney requested information for ten certain invoices during October/November 2020. On November 23, 2020, Ms. Mooney requested “every check written from check 16999 on January 28th through those written on November 15, 2020.” The GBHA provided a response on November 24, 2020, which included responsive records, as well as a fee estimate for a portion of the request. Unsatisfied with the GBHA’s response, Ms. Mooney petitioned this office, and SPR20/2362 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) (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). If there are any fees associated with a response a written, good faith estimate must be 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

Madonna Meagher SPR20/2362 Page 2 December 14, 2020 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. Status of the requestor; reason for the request In her appeal, Ms. Mooney states “[a]s a member of the GBHA's board, I am supposed to review warrants each month.” Please note that the reason for which a requestor seeks access to or a copy of a public record does not afford any greater right of access to the requested information than other persons in the general public. The Public Records Law does not distinguish between requestors. Access to a record pursuant to the Public Records Law rests on the content of the record and not the circumstances of the requestor. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(a); see also Bougas v. Chief of Police of ----------------------- Lexington, 371 Mass. 59, 64 (1976). Therefore, Ms. Mooney’s interest in obtaining the reports shall have no bearing on the public nature of the record. Whereas, Ms. Mooney may seek the records in her capacity as a GBHA board member, she may have a unique right of access to the records through statutory, regulatory, judicial or other applicable means. See Commonwealth v. Wanis, 426 Mass. 639 (1998). Ms. Mooney may wish to consider another means of seeking to obtain any existing responsive records. Accordingly, Ms. Mooney’s status will play no role in a determination as to whether a fee may be assessed for the requested records. The GBHA’s November 24th response In its November 24th response, the GBHA indicates “I am providing the initial request of the ten invoices as a good will gesture on or prior to December 4th. However, [y]our second request is far to [sic] extensive and the amount of manpower will be a burden on our resources. Therefore with the limited staff and limited hours, the housing authority will be requesting compensation as per MGL for research and compiling information you request. The fee is $16.50 an hour and .05 cents per copy. If you so choose to have me proceed with your second request we will provide you with an estimate. A check payable to the GBHA will be required prior to the research…[p]lease let me know how you would like for me to proceed.” A staff attorney of the Public Records Division confirmed with the GBHA the invoices have been provided to Ms. Mooney. Subsequent to the opening of this appeal, the GBHA provided Ms. Mooney with a response to her appeal on December 8, 2020.

Madonna Meagher SPR20/2362 Page 3 December 14, 2020 Conclusion Whereas the basis of this appeal was opened as a result of the GBHA’s November 24th response, I will now consider this administrative appeal closed. Ms. Mooney may appeal the substantive nature of GBHA’s response within ninety (90) days. See 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Sincerely, Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Eileen Mooney