Stanley Mazurczyk v. Chelmsford, Town of - Town Clerk (SPR 20220537)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records March 17, 2022 SPR22/0537 Patricia E. Dzuris Public Records Compliance Officer Town of Chelmsford 50 Billerica Road Chelmsford, MA 01824 Dear Ms. Dzuris: I have received the petition of Stanley Mazurczyk appealing the nonresponse of the Town of Chelmsford (Town) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, §10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). On January 6, 2022, Mr. Mazurczyk requested the following records: 1) Invoices for the month of July 2021 of Verizon accounts #786801404-00001 and #481485108-00002. 2) Response Town provided to the Supervisor of Records dated December 6, 2021. Previous appeal This request was the subject of a previous appeal. See SPR22/0150 Determination of the Supervisor of Records (February 3, 2022). The Town responded on February 28, 2022. Unsatisfied with the response, Mr. Mazurczyk petitioned this office and this appeal, SPR22/0537, 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 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

Patricia E. Dzuris SPR21/0537 Page 2 March 17, 2022 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 February 28th response In its February 28, response, the Town advised that it produced the requested invoices and an email dated December 6, 2021. Current appeal In his appeal, Mr. Mazurczyk advises that he did not received the Verizon invoices. Despite being notified of the opening of this appeal, it remains unclear whether the Town has provided the requested records. Accordingly, the Town is ordered to provide Mr. Mazurczyk with a response to his request, provided in a manner consistent with this order, the Public Records Law and its Access Regulations within ten (10) business days. A copy of any such response must be provided to this office. Mr. Mazurczyk may appeal the substantive nature of the Town’s response within ninety (90) days. See 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Sincerely, Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Stanley Mazurczyk Paul Haverty, Esq.