Gerard F. Mackin, Jr. v. Weymouth, Town of - Town Clerk (SPR 20221912)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records August 26, 2022 SPR22/1912 Kathleen Deree Town Clerk Town of Weymouth 75 Middle Street Weymouth, MA 02189 Dear Ms. Deree, I have received the petition of Gerard Mackin appealing the response of the Town of Weymouth (Town) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). On August 17, 2022, Mr. Mackin requested, “… documents regarding receipt of funds related to covid relief.” Previous appeals This request was the subject of previous appeals. See SPR22/1760; SPR22/1761 Determination of the Supervisor of Records (August 3, 2022) and SPR22/1803 Determination of the Supervisor of Records (August 17, 2022). The Town responded on August 16, 2022 and August 19, 2022. Unsatisfied with the responses, Mr. Mackin petitioned this office and this appeal, SPR22/1912 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 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 Deree SPR22/1912 Page 2 August 26, 2022 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 August Responses In the Town August 16, 2022 response, the Town asserted that, “… Covid relief funds were answered by our Municipal Finance Department on 7/29/22. There are no documents regarding State funds and a fee estimate of $272.75 was sent to Mr. Mackin for the documents pertaining to Federal Covid Relief funds. Mr. Mackin has not paid this bill …” In the Town’s August 19, 2022 response, the Town reiterated its August 16th response and confirmed that Mr. Mackin has not paid the fee estimate. Current appeal In his appeal, Mr. Mr. Mackin states that he requested, “…documents regarding receipt of funds related to covid relief. I have not received a response to that request.” Upon review, the Town responded and provided a fee estimate to Mr. Mackin’s request for responsive records. It appears that as of August 19th, Mr. Mackin had not paid the fee. Consequently, I find that the basis of Mr. Mackin’s appeal is unclear. Mr. Mackin is reminded that all petitions for appeal “shall specifically describe the nature of the requestor’s objections to the response or failure to timely respond.” 950 C.M.R. 32.08(l)(f). Conclusion Accordingly, I am unable to issue a determination at this time. Mr. Mackin may wish to clarify his specific objections to the Town’s response. Sincerely, Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records cc: Gerard Mackin Marsha Geronaitis