John Martin v. Clinton, Town of - Town Administrator (SPR 20212468)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records October 5, 2021 SPR21/2468 Michael Ward Town Administrator Town of Clinton 242 Church Street Clinton, MA 01510 Dear Mr. Ward: I have received the petition of John Martin appealing the non-response of the Town of Clinton (Town) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). On August 12, 2021, Mr. Martin requested, “a list of all licensed Class 1, Class 2, and Class 3 motor vehicle dealers (names and addresses) in the Town of Clinton.” Claiming to not yet have received a response, Mr. Martin petitioned this office, and this appeal, SPR21/2468, was opened as a result. Under the Public Records Law and the Access Regulations (Regulations) all requests for public records must be met with a response within 10 business days from receipt of the request. G. L. c. 66, § 10(a)-(b). The response may contain, among other things, an offer to provide records, a fee estimate for provision of the records, or a denial. G. L. c. 66, § 10(b). All records custodians must comply with both the Public Records Law and the Regulations with respect to the timeliness of response. Despite being notified of the opening of this appeal, it is unclear if a response has been provided. Accordingly, the Town is ordered to provide Mr. Martin 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 the 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. 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

Michael Ward SPR21/2468 Page 2 October 5, 2021 Sincerely, Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: John Martin