Frank Wood v. Framingham, City of - City Clerk (SPR 20230060)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records January 24, 2023 SPR23/0060 Paul J. Iversen Records Access Officer City of Framingham 150 Concord Street Framingham, MA 01702 Dear Mr. Iversen: I have received the petition from Frank Wood appealing the response of the City of Framingham (City) to a request for public records. See G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). On December 23, 2022, Mr. Wood requested from the City’s Human Resources Department, “[a]ll union grievance forms filed by any City employee between 1/1/2022 [and] 12/23/2022.” On January 10, 2022, the City provided a response asserting, “. . . [c]losing as a duplicate request. This request has effectively already been made and any responsive records have already been produced, redacted and/or withheld in accordance with the law.” On January 11, 2023, Mr. Wood petitioned the Supervisor of Records (Supervisor), and this appeal was opened. 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) (written response must “identify 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 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

Paul J. Iversen SPR23/0060 Page 2 January 24, 2023 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). If there are any fees associated with a response a written, good faith estimate must be provided. G. L. c. 66, § 10(b)(viii); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.07(2). Once fees are paid, a records custodian must provide the responsive records. Current appeal In the appeal petition, Mr. Wood contends, “[t]here is no evidence that [the December 23, 2022 request] is a duplicate request or that the [C]ity has released info that would fall under this request already. There are other similar requests but this latest request is all inclusive and less limiting than other requests.” Based upon the petition sent by Mr. Wood, it reveals that a request prior to the December 23, 2022 request, was sent to the City on December 8, 2022. The December 8th request compared to the December 23rd request is a very narrow request for grievances. The December 8th request sought, “[t]he union grievance filed by an [identified person] and filed with employer on 7/25/2022.” Therefore, it is unclear how the December 23rd request is a duplicate of the December 8th request. Consequently, I find the City has not met its burden of specificity in responding to the December 23rd request. Specifically, the City must clarify whether it possesses records responsive to, “[a]ll union grievance forms filed by any City employee between 1/1/2022 [and] 12/23/2022.” In accordance with the Public Records Law, custodians are expected to use their superior knowledge of the records in their custody to assist requestors in obtaining the desired information. See 950 C.M.R. 32.04(5). Conclusion Accordingly, the City is ordered to provide Mr. Wood with a response to the request, 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 the response to this office at pre@sec.state.ma.us. Sincerely, Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records cc: Frank Wood