Greg Rowehl v. Charlemont, Town of - Town Clerk (SPR 20230335)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records March 7, 2023 SPR23/0335 Kathy Reynolds Town Clerk Town of Charlemont 157 Main Street Charlemont, MA 01339 Dear Ms. Reynolds: I have received the petition of Gregory Rowehl appealing the response of the Town of Charlemont (Town) to a request for public records. See G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). On February 6, 2023, Mr. Rowehl requested: Any documents or reports from having to do with the excise tax as listed below for the last 20 years. A separate excise tax law applies to dealers. A motor vehicle dealer to whom a Section 5 registration has been issued shall, for the privilege of such registration, pay to the collector of taxes for the city or town in which such dealership is licensed, a special excise in the amount of $100.00 for each registration plate. The RMV sends a report to the town in late May for these Section 5 registrants. The bills are payable directly to the city or town. In an initial response on February 15, 2023, the Town provided a response indicating, “[t]he Town is consulting with the Town Attorney regarding these documents….We have not received a reply from our Attorney but once we do we shall inform you if these records can be released.” As a result of the February 15th response, Mr. Rowehl petitioned the Supervisor of Records 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 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. Kathy Reynolds SPR23/0335 Page 2 March 7, 2023 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 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. Subsequently to the opening of this appeal, I learned that the Town provided a further response to Mr. Rowehl on March 2, 2023, with a copy of the response to this Office. In addition, the Town provided Mr. Rowehl with the records responsive to his February 6th request. Conclusion Accordingly, where the Town provided Mr. Rowehl with the requested records, I will consider this administrative appeal closed. Mr. Rowehl may appeal the substantive nature of the Town’s March 2, 2023 response within ninety (90) days. See 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Sincerely, Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records cc: Gregory Rowehl