Lisa Parr v. Mansfield, Town of - Town Clerk (SPR 20220117)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records January 20, 2022 SPR22/0117 Marianne Staples Town Clerk Town of Mansfield 6 Park Row, 2nd Floor Mansfield, MA 02048 Dear Ms. Staples: I have received the petition of Lisa Parr appealing the response of the Town of Mansfield (Town) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). On November 25, 2021, Ms. Parr requested, “a copy of the [Town’s] resident list.” On January 18, 2022, the Town responded. Unsatisfied with the Town’s response, Ms. Parr petitioned this office and this appeal, SPR22/0117, 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. The Town’s January 18th Response On January 18, 2022, the Town provided a spreadsheet containing various categories of information pertaining to the Town’s residents that included names and residential addresses. 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

Marianne Staples SPR22/0117 Page 2 January 20, 2022 Current Appeal In her January 18, 2022 appeal, Ms. Parr stated, “[Certain] data is not included.” On January 20, 2022, Ms. Parr further stated, “I was able to open the spreadsheet, but it is still not showing mailing address data…[While there is] residential data…there is not any mailing address data.” Where the Town provided records responsive to her initial request, the basis of Ms. Parr’s appeal is unclear. In compliance with the Public Records Law, the Supervisor of Records may only issue determinations where a violation of G. L. c. 66, § 10 has occurred. G. L. c. 66, § 10A(a). It is uncertain whether Ms. Parr is alleging a violation of G. L. c. 66, § 10. Conclusion Ms. Parr is reminded that all petitions for appeal “shall specifically describe the nature of the requestor's objections to the response or failure to timely respond.” 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1)(f). Ms. Parr may wish to submit a new request to the Town for records containing mailing address data. Sincerely, Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Lisa Parr