Richard Cohen v. Dennis, Town of (SPR 20220874)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records April 28, 2022 SPR22/0874 Theresa Bunce Town of Dennis 458 Main Street South Dennis, MA 02660 Dear Ms. Bunce: I have received the petition of Richard Cohen appealing the nonresponse of the Town of Dennis (Town) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). On March 30, 2022, Mr. Cohen requested copies of bonds, inspection reports, bond retention calculations and other pertinent information regarding construction of a specifically identified road. Claiming to not yet have received responsive records, Mr. Cohen petitioned this office and this appeal, SPR22/0874, 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. 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

Theresa Bunce SPR22/0874 Page 2 April 28, 2022 Order Accordingly, the Town is ordered to provide Mr. Cohen 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: Richard Cohen