Ronald Alexander v. Natick, Town of (SPR 20210129)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records February 3, 2021 SPR21/0129 Ms. Kathleen Lentini Records Access Officer Town of Natick 13 East Central Street, 1st Floor Natick, MA 01760 Dear Ms. Lentini: I have received the petition of Mr. Ronald Alexander appealing the nonresponse of the Town of Natick (Town) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). On December 29, 2020, Mr. Alexander requested “. . . to inspect all invoices received by the Town of Natick for legal services provided in calendar year 2017, including but not limited to legal services provided by Town Counsel, Town Labor Counsel, counsels for the Public Schools, counsels for the Natick Police Department, and any other department of the Town of Natick, MA.” Claiming to not yet have received a response, Mr. Alexander petitioned this office and this appeal 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

Ms. Kathleen Lentini SPR21/0129 Page 2 February 3, 2021 If there are any fees associated with a response a written, good faith estimate must be 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. Order Despite being notified of the opening of this appeal, the Town has yet to provide a response with respect to Mr. Alexander’s request. Accordingly, the Town is ordered to provide Mr. Alexander with a response to the request, provided in a manner consistent with this order, the Public Records Law, and its Regulations within 10 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. Mr. Alexander may appeal the substantive nature of the Town’s response within ninety (90) days. See 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Sincerely, Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Mr. Ronald Alexander