Perry Mason v. Framingham, City of - City Clerk (SPR 20220384)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records February 24, 2022 SPR22/0384 Carly Premo Melo Director of Technology Services City of Framingham 150 Concord Street Framingham, MA 01702 Dear Ms. Melo: I have received the petition of Perry Mason 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, Mr. Mason requested, “all communication (text, email, Facebook messenger, screenshots) from/to [a certain] City CPA member…pertaining to the Leland St. Tow Yard matter that appears to be posted by her on Framingham Unfiltered with key words ‘planning,’ ‘Leland,’ ‘Justin,’ ‘Bobillier,’ ‘General Chemical,’ ‘solar,’ ‘Brownfield,’ and ‘Lopez’ from 12/1/2021 and 2/3/2022.” The City provided a response on February 10, 2022. Unsatisfied with the City’s response, Mr. Mason petitioned this office and this appeal, SPR22/0384, 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. 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. 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

Carly Premo Melo SPR22/0384 Page 2 February 24, 2022 The City’s February 10th Response In its February 10, 2022 response, the City stated: [The named City CPA member] does not have a City email address as a member of the Community Preservation Committee. The records requested are communications using her own personal email as a private citizen regarding subject matter which is outside of the scope of her official duties on the CPC. Such communications are outside the scope of the definition of “public records” and therefore are not subject to disclosure under the Public Records Law. Current Appeal In his current appeal, Mr. Mason stated, “There is no denial of records, just the platform that was used. Use of a personal email should not shield Ms. Grove as a public official discussing matters of city business before her committee.” I find it unclear whether the records created were in the scope of the individual’s official duties. The City must clarify this matter. Please note that public records must be maintained and kept in a manner that allows access by the general public, as they are subject to mandatory disclosure upon request. G. L. c. 66, § 10(a); see also Reinstein v. Police Comm’r of Boston, 378 - - - - - Mass. 281, 289-90 (1979). Conclusion Accordingly, the City is ordered to provide Mr. Mason with a response to the request, provided in a manner consistent with this order, the Public Records Law and its Regulations within ten (10) 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. Sincerely, Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Perry Mason