Mason Woolley v. South Hadley, Town of - Town Clerk (SPR 20230168)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records February 8, 2023 SPR23/0168 Sarah B. Gmeiner Town Clerk Town of South Hadley 116 Main Street, Room 108 South Hadley, MA 01075 Dear Ms. Gmenier: I have received the petition of Mason Wooley 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 November 12, 2022, Mr. Wooley requested, “email correspondence of [a named individual] regarding [a named individual] from 9/01/2022 to 11/12/2022.” The Town provided a response on November 23, 2022. Unsatisfied with the response, Mr. Wooley petitioned this office and this appeal, SPR23/0168, 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, § l0A(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. 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 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 B. Gmeiner SPR23/0168 Page 2 February 8, 2022 custodian must provide the responsive records. The Town’s November 23rd Response In its November 23, 2022 response, the Town provided email records from October 2022 in redacted form. Current appeal In his appeal, Mr. Wooley states, “I recently discovered the town withheld records…” Mr. Wooley provided an email correspondence he believes was not provided. In light of the claim made by Mr. Wooley, it is unclear if the Town possesses additional records that may be responsive to the request. 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). To the extent that responsive records exist, I find the Town must provide them in a manner consistent with the Public Records Law or identify an exemption that applies to withhold the records from disclosure. G. L. c. 66, § 10(b). The Town must clarify this matter. Conclusion Accordingly, the Town is ordered to provide Mr. Wooley with a response to the request, provided 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. Sincerely, Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records cc: Mason Wooley