Stanley Mazurczyk v. Chelmsford, Town of - Building Department (SPR 20242873)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records November 1, 2024 SPR24/2873 Vera Clauson Building Department Assistant Town of Chelmsford Building Department 50 Billerica Road Chelmsford, MA 01824 Dear Ms. Clauson: 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 October 11, 2024, Mr. Mazurczyk requested, “copies of all public records of enforcement against . . . [Hertz and GEICO] regarding . . . [G. L. c. 110, § 5].” The Town provided a response on October 17, 2024, which included responsive records. Unsatisfied with the Town’s response, Mr. Mazurczyk petitioned this office and this appeal, SPR24/2873, 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 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 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

Vera Clauson SPR24/2873 Page 2 November 1, 2024 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 In his appeal petition, Mr. Mazurczyk contends the following: [The] Town’s claim that HERTZ and GEICO businesses in Chelmsford, MA are registered with the state of Massachusetts are not required to obtain local DBA certificates is deceptive. I searched both entities on MA Corporations . . . website and found neither, “HERTZ” or “GEICO” registered as corporations. HERTZ is in violation of MGL Chapter 110, Section 5 by not renewing its certificate and failing to report relocation from . . . both locations . . . in Chelmsford, MA. There’s no listing for GEICO as a registered corporation in Massachusetts. It’s inexplicable why the Town claims these businesses don’t need DBA certificates to conduct business in Chelmsford. . . . I requested [the] Town provide records of enforcement against these delinquent businesses, [the] Town provided none. The Town’s October 17th Response In its October 17, 2024 response, the Town provided six pages of responsive records and stated, “[a]ttached are all documents from the building dept file for HERTZ and GEICO.” The Town further advised, “[b]eing corporations registered in the state of Massachusetts they are not required to obtain local DBA certificates, unless working under a name that is different from the corporate name registered. At the current time there are no known zoning or building violations against either business address.” Subsequent to the opening of this appeal, I learned that the Town confirmed with this office that it is not in possession of any additional records responsive to this request. No Duty to Create Records Please be advised, under the Public Records Law a custodian is not required to create a record in response to a public records request. See G. L. c. 66, § 6A(d). In addition, a public employee is not required to answer questions, or do research, or create documents in response to questions. See 32 Op. Att’y Gen. 157, 165 (May 18, 1977). 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). Conclusion Accordingly, where the Town has confirmed that it does not possess additional records, and has no duty to create records responsive to the request, I will now consider this administrative appeal closed. Mr. Mazurczyk is advised that this office shares jurisdiction with the Superior Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. See G. L. c. 66, § 10A(c).

Vera Clauson SPR24/2873 Page 3 November 1, 2024 Sincerely, Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records cc: Stanley Mazurczyk