Carlene C. Hamlin v. South Hadley, Town of - Town Clerk (SPR 20221926)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records September 1, 2022 SPR22/1926 Sarah Gmeiner Town Clerk Town of South Hadley 116 Main Street, Room 109 South Hadley, MA 01075 Dear Ms. Gmeiner: I have received the petition of Carlene Hamlin appealing the response of the Town of South Hadley (Town) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). On May 24, 2022, Ms. Hamlin requested “all emails and correspondence to or from” three Town employees that reference a named individual. Previous Appeals This request was the subject of previous appeals. See SPR22/1347 Determination of the Supervisor of Records (June 23, 2022) and SPR22/1571 Determination of the Supervisor of Records (July 22, 2022). In my July 22nd determination, I found that the Town may properly withhold the records listed in its July 7, 2022 privilege log, and I ordered the Town to clarify its claims under Exemption (c) of the Public Records Law. Subsequently, the Town responded to Ms. Hamlin on August 17, 2022, providing additional responsive records. Unsatisfied with the Town’s response, Ms. Hamlin appealed, and this case 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. 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

Sarah Gmeiner SPR22/1926 Page 2 September 1, 2022 Att’y 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. Current Appeal In her appeal petition, Ms. Hamlin contends that the Town’s response, “fails to provide in its entirety [her] original request from said parties mentioned above that reference [her] name.” She also notes that some of her personnel records were released to another party on June 3, 2022. The Town’s August 17th Response In its August 17, 2022 response, the Town provides Ms. Hamlin with an email chain in redacted form, and notes that “[t]he redacted portion of the records is protected from disclosure by attorney-client privilege.” As discussed above, I previously determined that the items listed in the July 7th privilege log, which included this email chain, may be properly withheld under the attorney-client privilege. In a phone conversation with this office on August 25, 2022, an attorney for the Town clarified that the Town is no longer claiming Exemption (c) of the Public Records Law to withhold any responsive records. He further explained that the Town has no other written correspondence or emails responsive to Ms. Hamlin’s request. Conclusion Where the Town has confirmed that it does not possess additional records responsive to Ms. Hamlin’s request, I will now consider this administrative appeal closed. If Ms. Hamlin is not satisfied with the resolution of this administrative appeal, please be advised that this office shares jurisdiction with the Superior Court of the Commonwealth. See G. L. c. 66, §§ 10(b)(ix), 10A(c) (pursuing administrative appeal does not limit availability of judicial remedies). Sincerely, Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records cc: Carlene Hamlin