Patrick D. McPhee v. Ashby, Town of - Town Administrator (SPR 20222881)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records January 3, 2023 SPR22/2881 Christine Lindberg Town Administrator Town of Ashby 895 Main Street Ashby, MA 01431 Dear Ms. Lindberg: I have received the petition of Patrick McPhee appealing the response of the Town of Ashby (Town) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). On November 19, 2022, Mr. McPhee requested: … all information on the meeting discussed in SelectBoard Meeting: Date: October 27, 2021 Interim Town Administrator [and] the agreement between the Town of Ashby and Church [including] for the past 10 years all agreements and invoices for work done and service for Ashby Congregational Church. Please ensure you include all invoices for the water and electric and paving and anything else given to the Ashby Congregational Church. Please be sure to include emails and meeting discussions. On November 21, 2022, the Town responded. Unsatisfied with the Town’s response, Mr. McPhee appealed, and SPR22/2881 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(d)(iv) (written response must “identify 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

Christine Lindberg SPR22/2881 Page 2 January 3, 2023 any records, categories of records or portions of records that the agency or municipality intends to withhold, and provide the specific reasons for such withholding, including the specific exemption or exemptions upon which the withholding is based…”); 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). The Town’s November 21st Response In its November 21, 2022 response, the Town asserted that the request “as stated is overly broad and the Town is unable to discern what documents [he is] requesting.” Further, the Town advised for Mr. McPhee to “provide further information on the specific documents [being] … request[ed] and we will be happy to provide same.” Current appeal In his appeal, Mr. McPhee alleges, “the [T]own has not responded in over [15 days], [therefore] the records are to be given.” Please be aware that the request must reasonably describe the records sought. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(a)(i). In a 2019 case, the Superior Court found that under the Public Records Law “[t]he reasonable description requirement contemplates that a requesting party will identify documents or categories of documents with sufficient particularity that government employees will be able to understand exactly what they are looking for, and then make a prompt production.” See Jaideep Chawla v. Dept of Revenue, Suffolk. Sup. No. l 784CV02087, at 2 (January 23, 2019). Mr. McPhee is encouraged to provide the Town with the needed clarification regarding the request. G. L. c. 66, § 10(a)(i) (the request must reasonably describe the public record sought). The Town must use its knowledge of the records to facilitate the provision of any responsive records. 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). Conclusion Upon clarification, the Town must provide a response to Mr. McPhee in a manner consistent with this order, the Public Records Law, and its Regulations within 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.

Christine Lindberg SPR22/2881 Page 3 January 3, 2023 Sincerely, Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records cc: Patrick McPhee