Geoffrey Epstein v. Framingham, City of - Finance Division (SPR 20221426)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records July 6, 2022 SPR22/1426 Jennifer Pratt Records Access Officer Finance Division City of Framingham 150 Concord Street, Room 127 Framingham, MA 01702 Dear Ms. Pratt: I have received the petition of Geoffrey Epstein appealing the response of the City of Framingham Finance Division (Division) to a request for public records. See G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). On May 31, 2022, Mr. Epstein requested: [A] list of all bonds issued by Framingham used to finance water and sewer projects since March[. I] would like to know the amount financed by each bond issue, the interest rate, the issue term in years, annual debt service[.] If bond issues were made separately for water and for sewer projects, I would like for water or for sewer. If bonds were refinanced, I would like to also know the refinance date. On June 6, 2022, the Division responded. Unsatisfied with this response, Mr. Epstein petitioned this office and this appeal, SPR22/1426, 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

Jennifer Pratt SPR22/1426 Page 2 July 6, 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. 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. The City’s June 6th Response In its response, the Division stated that “the Public Records Law does not require the City to create records requests. The information you are looking for can be found online under finance/budget central at the information at the bottom of the page if you click on Financial Reports. https://www.framinghamma.gov/Financial-Reports[.]” Current Appeal In his current appeal, Mr. Epstein asserts that “[t]he city provide[s] no documents in response, just a bunch of city website links where I cannot find the information requested.” The duty to comply with requests for records extends to those records that exist and are in the possession, custody, or control of the custodian of records at the time of the request. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(a)(ii). G. L. c. 66, § 6A(d) provides that “[i]f the public record requested is available on a public website pursuant to subsection (b) of section 19 of this chapter, section 14C of chapter 7 or any other appropriately indexed and searchable public website, the records access officer may furnish the public record by providing reasonable assistance in locating the requested record on the public website.” As such, where Mr. Epstein claims that he is unable to locate the records using the link provided, this office encourages the Division and Mr. Epstein to communicate further in order to enable access to the responsive records. Conclusion Accordingly, the Division is ordered to provide Mr. Epstein 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. Mr. Epstein may appeal the substantive nature of the Division’s response within ninety (90) days. See 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1).

Jennifer Pratt SPR22/1426 Page 3 July 6, 2022 Sincerely, Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Geoffrey Epstein