Anthony DePrizio v. Falmouth, Town of (SPR 20231146)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records June 13, 2023 SPR23/1146 Maura E. O’Keefe, Esq. Town Counsel Town of Falmouth 157 Locust Street Falmouth, MA 02540 Dear Attorney O’Keefe: I have received the petition of Anthony J. DePrizio appealing the response of the Town of Falmouth (Town) to a request for public records. See G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). On May 17, 2023, Mr. DePrizio requested: …the sign in logs from the exacqvision camera/dvr recording device(s) for all users that have access to the system. The sign in logs must be from the town hall exacqvision system and the police/fire exacqvision system. The user logs also need to include vendors. I am looking for the plain sign in logs rom 12:00:01 am on February 21, 2023 through 11:59:59 PM on March 22, 2023. On May 26, 2023, the Town provided a response and the responsive sign-in logs. On May 30, 2023, Mr. DePrizio petitioned the Supervisor of Records (Supervisor), and this appeal was opened. In his petition, Mr. DePrizio indicates, “I received a response with attachments but they failed to provide part of my request. They failed to provide the [E]xacqvision logs for the public safety (police/fire) dvr.” 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 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

Maura E. O’Keefe, Esq. SPR23/1146 Page 2 June 13, 2023 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. Subsequent to the opening of this appeal, in a June 5, 2023 telephone conversation between Attorney O’Keefe and a senior attorney in the Public Records Division, it is my understanding that the Town intends to provide a further response to Mr. DePrizio concerning his request for the Exacqvision Logs for the police and fire dvr. Conclusion Accordingly, the Town is ordered to provide Mr. DePrizio with a response to his request in a manner consistent with 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: Anthony J. DePrizio