Rich Saltzberg v. Tisbury, Town of (SPR 20212694)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records October 27, 2021 SPR21/2694 Mr. Jay Grande Town of Tisbury 51 Spring Street, Box 1239 Vineyard Haven, MA 02568-0606 Dear Mr. Grande: I have received the petition of Rich Saltzberg appealing the nonresponse of the Town of Tisbury (Town) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Specifically, Mr. Saltzberg requested various communications between identified Town employees. Having received no response, he petitioned this office. 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. 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. 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

SPR21/2694 Jay Grande Page 2 October 27, 2021 Order Subsequent to the opening of this appeal, the Town contacted our office to confirm that it intends to provide a response to Mr. Saltzberg. Accordingly, said response must be provided in a manner consistent with this order, the Public Records Law and its Regulations within ten 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. If Mr. Saltzberg is unsatisfied, he may appeal the substantive nature of the Town’s response within 90 days. See 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Sincerely, '/lluvuw. .n 11 ~ ~ ~ - 0 1W'.}U.,CQ.. .~ Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Rich Saltzberg