Corey Spaulding v. Framingham, City of - City Clerk (SPR 20220274)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records February 18, 2022 SPR22/0274 Todd Palmer Records Access Officer City of Framingham 150 Concord Street Framingham, MA 01702 Dear Mr. Palmer: I have received the petition of Corey Spaulding appealing the response of the City of Framingham (City) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). On February 3, 2022, Ms. Spaulding requested “any and all Public Records or FOIA Requests made [her], Corey Spaulding.” The City responded on February 4, 2022, providing a link to a website. Unsatisfied with the City’s response, Ms. Spaulding appealed, and this case 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 agency or municipality 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. Att’y 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

Todd Palmer SPR22/0274 Page 2 February 18, 2022 Current Appeal In her appeal petition, Ms. Spaulding states that “I don’t believe I have to go through a specific website to request PRR.” The City’s February 4th Response In its February 4, 2022 response, the City explains that “a listing of all public records requests made to any department of the City since 2017 is located at the following link” and provides a link to a website. The City further explains that “you can search the database by requester name to see the requests that you made and the responses to them. Other than this database, the City does not have any record that lists the public records requests that you have made.” Pursuant to 950 C.M.R. 32.06, “requests for public records may be made orally in person to a records access officer or custodian or may be written. . . . [W]ritten requests may be delivered by a requester to the business address or designated website or email address of a records access officer or custodian: 1. by hand; 2. by mail; 3. by electronic mail; or 4. by facsimile, if custodian has facsimile access.” See 950 C.M.R. 32.06(1)(a), (c). In this case, the City accepted Ms. Spaulding’s request by email, provided a written response the following day, and did not require her to use a website or on-line portal to make her request. Further, please be advised that it is permissible for the custodian of records to provide access to records via a link to a website. See 950 C.M.R. 32.04 (5)(e) (“A records access officer shall . . . to the extent feasible, furnish the public records by providing reasonable assistance in locating the records on an appropriately indexed and searchable public website”). In this case, the City provided Ms. Spaulding with a link to a website where she can search a database of requests by the requestor’s name. Based on the forgoing, I find the City has met its burden in responding to this request. Conclusion Accordingly, I will consider this administrative appeal closed. If Ms. Spaulding is not satisfied with the resolution of this administrative appeal, please be advised that this office shares jurisdiction with the Superior Court of the Commonwealth. See G. L. c. 66, §§ 10(b)(ix), 10A(c) (pursuing administrative appeal does not limit availability of judicial remedies).

Todd Palmer SPR22/0274 Page 3 February 18, 2022 Sincerely, Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Corey Spaulding