Evelyn Tobin v. Methuen, City of - City Clerk (SPR 20230220)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records February 13, 2023 SPR23/0220 Anne Drouin City Clerk City of Methuen Seales Building, Room 112 41 Pleasant Street Methuen, MA 01844 Dear Ms. Drouin: I have received the petition of Evelyn Tobin appealing the response of the City of Methuen (City) to a request for public records. See G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). On January 18, 2023, Ms. Tobin requested “…resume, professional qualifications, and job application for [an identified City employee].” On January 27, 2023, the City denied Ms. Tobin’s request in its entirety, pursuant to “Exemption (c) personnel file. M.G.L. c. 4, § 7(26)(c) and per the decision under Wakefield Teachers Association v. School Committee of Wakefield and another, 431 Mass. 792, 798 (2000).” As a result of the City’s January 27th response, Ms. Tobin petitioned the Supervisor of Records (Supervisor), and this appeal was opened. In her petition, Ms. Tobin asserts, “[o]nly employees at or above a certain level require approval by the City Council. In this case, the employee was directly hired by the mayor. It is my contention that the candidates’ background and qualifications for a taxpayer-funded job should be publicly available. My interest in this information was to evaluate, as a taxpayer, whether the candidate met the posted experience and educational requirements of the position of epidemiologist” Subsequent to the opening of this appeal, I learned that the City provided a supplemental response to Ms. Tobin on February 11, 2023. Conclusion Accordingly, where this appeal was opened as a result of the City’s January 27th response, I will now consider this administrative appeal closed. Ms. Tobin may appeal the 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

Ms. Anne Drouin SPR23/0220 Page 2 February 13, 2023 substantive nature of the City’s February 11th response within ninety (90) days. See 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Sincerely, Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records cc: Evelyn Tobin