Brian Keaney v. Dedham, Town of - Town Clerk (SPR 20210229)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records February 16, 2020 SPR21/0229 Paul M. Munchbach Town Clerk/Records Access Officer Dedham Town Hall 450 Washington Street Dedham, MA 02026 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). On December 7, 2020, Mr. Keaney submitted a request for several Selectmen meeting minutes within the possession of the Town. Previous appeal This request was the subject of a previous appeal. See SPR21/0076 Determination of the Supervisor of Records (January 28, 2021). Following the January 28th determination, the Town provided Mr. Keaney with a response on January 29, 2021. Unsatisfied with the Town’s subsequent response, Mr. Keaney appealed and SPR21/0229 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(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 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 SPR21/0229 Page 2 February 16, 2021 burden of establishing the applicability of an exemption). The Town’s January 29, 2021 response In its January 29th response, the Town asserted that some of the requested minutes are “… completed and would be redacted in their entirety due to the subject matter of the Executive Session … pursuant to the Open Meeting Law as it operates through exemption (a).” Additionally, the Town posits that, “... [t]here are also several executive session meeting minutes that … are exempt from disclosure for the additional reason that the contents are protected by the attorney-client privilege.” Open Meeting Law Given that this appeal is related to documents received and used by the Town during an executive session, this raises issues that potentially invoke the Open Meeting Law. Given that an interpretation of the Open Meeting Law falls within the authority of the Office of the Attorney General (AGO) and not this office, I decline to provide a determination under the Public Records Law at this time. See G. L. c. 30A, § 23. It is recommended that you contact the AGO should you seek a determination on this issue. Sincerely, Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Brian Keaney