Patrick D. McPhee v. Ashby, Town of - Office of the Town Clerk (SPR 20243466)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records January 13, 2025 SPR24/3466 Angela Jack Town Clerk Town of Ashby 895 Main Street Ashby, MA 01431 Dear Ms. Jack: I have received the petition of Patrick McPhee appealing the response of Town of Ashby (Town) to a request for public records. See G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). On December 31, 2024, Mr. McPhee requested, “the recording of Vimeo Dec 18, 2024 Select board meeting.” The Town provided a response on December 31, 2024. Unsatisfied with the Town’s response, Mr. McPhee petitioned this office and this appeal, SPR24/3466, 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 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. 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

Angela Jack SPR24/3466 Page 2 January 13, 2025 The Town’s December 31st Response In its December 31, 2024 response, the Town stated, “[t]he Vimeo recording was included [in] my last email -- https://vimeo.com/user9231850[.]” Current Appeal In his appeal to this office, Mr. McPhee states, “I asked for a copy, not to review on line.” Preferred Format A records access officer must, to the extent feasible, provide public records to a requestor in electronic format unless the record is not available in electronic form or the requestor does not have the ability to receive or access the records in electronic format and if feasible, in the requestor’s preferred format. In the absence of a preferred format, the records must be provided in a searchable machine-readable form. See 950 C.M.R. 32.04(5)(d). In light of Mr. McPhee’s appeal, I find the Town must clarify whether the responsive records can be provided in the format that Mr. McPhee has requested. The Town must clarify this matter. Conclusion Accordingly, the Town is ordered to provide Mr. McPhee 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. Sincerely, Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records cc: Patrick McPhee