Jeff Brown v. Glouster, City of - Dogtown Preservation Commision (SPR 20230622)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records April 13, 2023 SPR23/0622 Joanne M. Senos City Clerk City of Gloucester 9 Dale Avenue Gloucester, MA 01930 Dear Ms. Senos: I have received the petition of Jeff Brown appealing the response of the City of Gloucester (City) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). On March 2, 2023, Mr. Brown requested information related to a specific individual’s personal oath of office. The City responded on March 8, 2023. Unsatisfied with the City’s response, Mr. Brown petitioned this office and this appeal, SPR23/0622, 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(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. The City’s March 8th response In its March 8, 2023 response, the City provided Mr. Brown with several documents in response to his request. 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

Joanne M. Senos SPR23/0622 Page 2 April 13, 2023 Current appeal In his appeal, Mr. Brown states the following: I am writing today to appeal a public records request I made with the City of Gloucester because no relevant documents were produced by the City to it. This request references MGL, Chapter 41, section 107 regarding Oath of Office which states, in part, ‘Every person who is elected, including those elected by the city council, or appointed by the mayor to an office shall receive a certificate of such election or appointment from the city clerk.’ Based on Mr. Brown’s claims, it is unclear if the City possesses any records responsive to his 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). However, 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). Consequently, the City must clarify whether any records responsive to the request exist. Conclusion Accordingly, the City is ordered to provide Mr. Brown with a response to the request, provided 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 this response to this office at pre@sec.state.ma.us. Mr. Brown may appeal the substantive nature of the City’s response within ninety (90) days. See 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Sincerely, Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records cc: Jeff Brown