Mary Dormer v. Carver, Town of - Town Clerk (SPR 20240635)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records March 13, 2024 SPR24/0635 Michelle Sheehan Town Clerk Town of Carver 108 Main Street Carver, MA 02330 Dear Ms. Sheehan: I have received the petition of Mary Dormer appealing the response of the Town of Carver (Town) to a request for public records. See G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). On December 7, 2023, Ms. Dormer requested “all correspondence between SLT (which includes the owner and any employee or representative of the Company), RBBP, ERC and the Finance Committee in the last year.” Previous Appeal This request was the subject of a previous appeal. See SPR24/0127 Determination of the Supervisor of Records (January 25, 2024) and SPR24/0303 Determination of the Supervisor of Records (February 14, 2024). In my February 14th determination, I found that the Town may not charge a fee for the public records request under G. L. c. 66, § 10(e). The Town responded on February 29, 2024. Unsatisfied with the response, Ms. Dormer appealed and this case, SPR24/0635, 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. 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

Michelle Sheehan SPR24/0635 Page 2 March 13, 2024 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. 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 February 29th Response In its February 29, 2024 response, the Town provided a record. Current Appeal In her appeal, Ms. Dormer states, “the town quoted me a fee estimated of over [$]500.00 to satisfy this request. Which this office told them they could not in their determination of 2/14/2024. [The Town] also stated in correspondence with this office that they have identified several hundreds of pages. Please compel the Town to provide me with the records I seek, which includes ALL correspondence, emails as well as letters as they fought so hard to have me pay for when I first appealed this request. Obviously the one document that they sent me would not constitute a fee estimate of over 500.00. Please let me know who to send additional information that details the town’s original and correct interpretation of this request.” Possession, Custody, or Control The Town is advised that 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). Further, in accordance with the Public Records Law, 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). Based on Ms. Dormer’s appeal, it is unclear whether the Town possesses additional records responsive to Ms. Dormer’s request. The Town must clarify this. Conclusion Accordingly, the Town is ordered to provide Ms. Dormer 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 office. It is preferable to send an electronic copy of the response to this office at pre@sec.state.ma.us.

Michelle Sheehan SPR24/0635 Page 3 March 13, 2024 Sincerely, Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records cc: Mary Dormer Shelby Roy