Patrick Higgins v. Fall River, City of - Office of the Corporation Counsel (SPR 20211451)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records June 18, 2021 SPR21/1451 Seth Thomas Aitken Assistant Corporation Counsel City of Fall River One Government Center, Room 227 Fall River, MA 02722 Dear Attorney Aitken: I have received the petition of Patrick Higgins appealing the response of the City of Fall River (City) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). On June 6, 2021, Mr. Higgins requested “…a .pdf file copy of this Fall River police officers Servsafe certificate.” The City provided a response on June 8, 2021. Unsatisfied with the City’s response, Mr. Higgins petitioned this office and SPR21/1451 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. Current Appeal It is my understanding there are no records responsive to this request. 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

Seth Thomas Aitken, Esq. SPR21/1451 Page 2 June 18, 2021 Conclusion Accordingly, I will now consider this administrative appeal closed. If there are any remaining issues, Mr. Higgins is advised that this office shares jurisdiction with the Superior Court of the Commonwealth. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(b) (pursuing administrative appeal does not limit availability of applicable judicial remedies). Sincerely, Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Patrick Higgins