Daniel Narreau v. Palmer, Town of - Fire Department (SPR 20231275)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records June 27, 2023 SPR23/1275 Chief William Bernat Palmer Fire Department 12 Walnut Street Palmer, MA 01069 Dear Chief Bernat: I have received the petition of Daniel Narreau appealing the response of the Palmer Fire Department to a request for public records. See G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). On March 21, 2023, Mr. Narreau requested “. . . copies of public records that are requesting a fire inspection, and emails to and from [an identified person] and any property manager or prospective buyer of an [identified address] in Thorndike, MA [and] 2. Any/all email correspondence and documents related to this matter from January 1, 2023 to present date of this request.” Prior Appeal The requested records were the subject of a prior appeal. See SPR23/0632 Determination of the Supervisor of Records (Supervisor) (April 18, 2023). On March 30th, the Department provided correspondence with the identified person from January 1, 2023 to the present date. The Department also provided PDF screenshots of the requested emails. As a result of the Department not providing Mr. Narreau with the emails in PDF electronic format, Mr. Narreau petitioned the Supervisor, and the prior appeal was opened. In my April 18th determination, I ordered the Department to provide Mr. Narreau with a response to clarify why the Department cannot provide the records in the requestor’s preferred format, whether the Department can print the email records, scan them and provide the records to Mr. Narreau via email. Further, I found that it is unclear whether the Department possesses additional records responsive to the request. 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 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

Chief William Bernat SPR23/1275 Page 2 June 27, 2023 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 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. Current Appeal On June 12, 2023, Mr. Narreau petitioned the Supervisor, and the current appeal, SPR23/1275, was opened. In his petition, Mr. Narreau states, “…[t]he [Department] has still failed to provide electronic records as requested; the poor photo copies they provided does not fulfill the request of electronic records. The emails can be forwarded or saved as PDF format. The [Department] has hired council whom, also, sent photo copies that were poor quality and small font that was difficult to read.” Format of the responsive records The Department is advised that pursuant to the Public Records Law, “[t]he records access officer shall provide the public records to a requestor by electronic means unless the record is not available in electronic form or the requestor does not have the ability to receive or access the records in a usable electronic form. The records access officer shall, to the extent feasible, provide the public record in the requestor’s preferred format or, in the absence of a preferred format, in a searchable, machine readable format.” See G. L. c. 66, § 6A(d). Based upon Mr. Narreau’s June 12th petition, it is unclear if the Department can provide the records in the PDF format that Mr. Narreau requested, and provide these emails with a better readable font size. The Department must clarify these matters. Conclusion Accordingly, the Department is ordered to provide Mr. Narreau with a response to his request in a manner consistent with this order, the Public Records Law, and its Regulations

Chief William Bernat SPR23/1275 Page 3 June 27, 2023 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: Daniel Narreau