Anthony DePrizio v. Falmouth, Town of (SPR 20231147)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records June 13, 2023 SPR23/1147 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 18, 2023, Mr. DePrizio requested “…[a]LL login history including ip addresses and user name for the [E]xacqvision system(s) that is for [T]own hall and police/fire in plain text. The dates and times for the request 12:00:01 am on February 21, 2023 through 11:59:59 PM on March 22, 2023.” On May 26, 2023, the Town provided Mr. DePrizio with the responsive Exacqvision log and the dvr records from a prior request on May 17, 2023. In the Town’s May 26th response to the May 18th request, the Town provided another copy of those records in redacted form. As a result of the production of the records, Mr. DePrizio petitioned the Supervisor of Records (Supervisor), 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 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 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. SPR23/1147 Page 2 June 13, 2023 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. The Town’s May 26th response In its May 26th response, the Town informed Mr. DePrizio, “[c]ertain redactions were made to the documents, pursuant to Exemption (n), for records which relate to cyber security and the security of the technical infrastructure of the Town, the disclosure of which, in the reasonable judgment of the records custodian, is likely to jeopardize public safety or cyber security. M.G.L. c. 4, sec. 7(26)(n).” Current appeal In his petition, Mr. DePrizio asserts, “I received a response with attachments but [the Town] failed to provide part of the request. They failed to provide the [E]xacqvision logs for the public safety (public/fire) dvr, ip addresses, and usernames that are part of the [E]xacqvision logs.” Subsequent to the opening of this appeal, and based upon a June 5th conversation between a senior attorney in the Public Records Division and the Town’s Legal Counsel, it is my understanding that the Town intends on providing a further response to Mr. DePrizio. 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