Stanley Mazurczyk v. Chelmsford, Town of - Town Clerk (SPR 20231740)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records August 11, 2023 SPR23/1740 Paul E. Cohen Town Manager Town of Chelmsford 50 Billerica Road Chelmsford, MA 01824 Dear Mr. Cohen: I have received the petition of Stanley Mazurczyk appealing the response of the Town of Chelmsford (Town) to a request for public records. See G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). On April 9, 2023, Mr. Mazurczyk requested “records [the Town] has exchanged with Middlesex County Retirement System entity since January 1, 2020 regarding retirement benefits of Town employees.” Previous Appeals This request was the subject of previous appeals. See SPR23/0813; SPR23/0814 Determination of the Supervisor of Records (May 9, 2023). In my May 9th determination, I ordered the Town to provide Mr. Mazurczyk with a response to his request. On May 23, 2023, the Town responded. Unsatisfied with the Town’s response, Mr. Mazurczyk petitioned this office and this appeal, SPR23/1740, 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. Att’y for the Norfolk Dist. v. Flatley, 419 Mass. 507, 511 (1995) (custodian has the burden of 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

Paul E. Cohen SPR23/1740 Page 2 August 11, 2023 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. 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 23rd Response In its May 23, 2023 response, the Town states: …[that it] responded on January 3, 2023 that the Town does not have any responsive records. Mr. Mazurczyk responded by stating that he was requesting information regarding how much the Town pays into [a named individual’s] retirement benefits. [The Town] again responded on January 3, 2023 that the Town does not possess the granular details on how much the Town’s assessment is attributed to an individual retiree’s benefits. Mr. Mazurczyk did not appeal the response from the Town Manager, and instead replied with an email to the Select Board asking a number of questions relating to the funding of the Middlesex County Retirement System. These questions are not proper public records requests, and as such were not the subject of a formal response by the Town. Mr. Mazurczyk has been provided all existing public records that are responsive to his public records request. Current Appeal In his appeal, Mr. Mazurczyk states, “[t]own response dated May 23, 2023 is nonresponsive to April 9, 2023 request.” Based on the Town’s response, in conjunction with Mr. Mazurczyk’s appeal, it is unclear if the Town possesses records responsive to the 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). To the extent that records exist, I find the Town must provide them in a manner consistent with the Public Records Law or identify an exemption that applies to withhold the records from disclosure. G. L. c. 66, § 10(b). See G. L. c. 66, § 10(a) (records must be provided without unreasonable delay). Conclusion Accordingly, the Town is ordered to provide Mr. Mazurczyk with a response to the request, provided in a manner consistent with this order, the Public Records Law and its Regulations within ten business days. A copy of any such response must be provided to this

Paul E. Cohen SPR23/1740 Page 3 August 11, 2023 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: Stanley Mazurczyk Paul J. Haverty, Esq.