Sean Sheridan v. Longmeadow, Town of - Town Clerk (SPR 20222012)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records September 16, 2022 SPR22/2012 Timothy Donnelly Town Clerk Town of Longmeadow 20 Williams Street Longmeadow, MA 01106 Dear Mr. Donnelly: I have received the petition of Sean Sheridan appealing the response of the Town of Longmeadow (Town) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). On May 11, 2022, Mr. Sheridan requested “… any record, other than a map drawn or commissioned by the town that indicates the town has any authority or any right to deny me current possession of the attached parcels which I name Null1 through Null9.” The Town provided a response on May 18, 2022. Unsatisfied with the Town’s response, Mr. Sheridan petitioned this office and this appeal, SPR22/2012, 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 must not only cite an exemption, but must also state why the exemption applies to the withheld or redacted portion of the responsive record. 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

Timothy Donnelly SPR22/2012 Page 2 September 16, 2022 The Town’s May 18th Response In its response, the Town stated, “…I am submitting a request for additional time to comply with a PRR… It is unclear how much additional time [the Town] will need for this request. The Assessor’s Office is working through information that is in close proximity to these parcels to try to piece this together.” 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. Sheridan’s request was originally submitted on May 11, 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. Sheridan 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.

Timothy Donnelly SPR22/2012 Page 3 September 16, 2022 Sincerely, Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records cc: Sean Sheridan