Todd Wallack v. Natick, Town of (SPR 20221703)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records August 3, 2022 SPR22/1703 Kathleen Lentini Communication/Information Officer Natick Town Hall, First Floor 13 East Central Street Natick, MA 01760 Dear Ms. Lentini: I have received the petition of Todd Wallack, of WBUR, appealing the response of the Town of Natick (Town) to a request for public records. See G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). On April 27, 2022, Mr. Wallack requested the following records: [1] [a]ny demand or presentment letters sent by [named individual] or her attorney to the Town since January 1, 2020[;] [2] [a]ny complaints filed by [named individual] against the Town or its employees since January 1, 2020[;] [3] [a]ny correspondence with MCAD regarding case 20BEM02451…[;] [4] [a]ny correspondence with [named individual] and/or her attorney regarding complaints she filed with the Town or MCAD since January 1, 2020[;] [5] [Named individual’s] resignation/separation/termination letter[;] [6] [a]ny other records showing [named individual’s] title, department and separation date from the Town…[.] The Town provided a response on May 11, 2022. Unsatisfied with the Town’s response, Mr. Wallack petitioned this office and this appeal, SPR22/1703, 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). 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

Kathleen Lentini SPR22/1703 Page 2 August 3, 2022 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. The Town’s May 11th Response In its May 11, 2022 response, the Town through its counsel, Rachel L. Millette of Murphy, Hesse, Toomey & Lehane, LLP., advised Mr. Wallack that “…[t]he Town is reviewing the responsive documents…the Town avails itself of fifteen (15) additional business days to reply to your request pursuant to G. L. c. 66, § 10(b)(vi)….” G. L. c. 66, § 10(b) provides, in pertinent part, that if the magnitude or difficulty of the request unduly burdens the other responsibilities of the agency or municipality such that the agency or municipality cannot provide records within 10 business days, the agency or municipality must inform the requestor in writing within 10 business days. With respect to the timeframe to produce responsive records, the written response shall: identify a reasonable timeframe in which the agency or municipality shall produce the public records sought; provided, that for an agency, the timeframe shall not exceed 15 business days following the initial receipt of the request for public records and for a municipality the timeframe shall not exceed 25 business days following the initial receipt of the request for public records; and provided further, that the requestor may voluntarily agree to a response date beyond the timeframes set forth herein. G. L. c. 66, § 10(b)(vi). Where Mr. Wallack’s request was originally submitted on April 27, 2022, and the Town has not provided responsive records, I find the Town has not met its burden in responding to the request in accordance with G. L. c. 66, § 10(b)(vi). Accordingly, I find the Town must provide an estimated date as to when it expects to complete its review and provide the requested records. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(a) (records must be provided without unreasonable delay). To the extent possible, the Town must provide responsive records on a rolling basis. Conclusion Accordingly, the Town is ordered to provide Mr. Wallack with a response to his 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.

Kathleen Lentini SPR22/1703 Page 3 August 3, 2022 Sincerely, Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records cc: Todd Wallack Rachel L. Millette, Esq.