The Crew v. Lancaster, Town of (SPR 20250038)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records January 13, 2025 SPR25/0038 Kathleen Rocco Records Access Officer Lancaster Select Board 701 Main Street, Suite 1 Lancaster, MA 01523 Dear Ms. Rocco: I have received the petition of The Crew (requestor) appealing the response of the Town of Lancaster (Town) to a request for public records. See G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). On November 16, 2024, the requestor sought all emails sent or received by an identified Town employee in 2024, “… includ[ing] anything regarding town business[.]” The Town provided a response on December 11, 2024. Unsatisfied with the response, the requestor petitioned this office and this appeal, SPR25/0038, 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. 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. 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

Kathleen Rocco SPR25/0038 Page 2 January 13, 2025 The Town’s December 11th Response In its December 11, 2024 response, the Town provided the requestor with several responsive email communications sent from and received by the official Town email address of the identified Town employee. Current Appeal In the January 6, 2025 petition to this office, the requestor claimed that the identified Town employee primarily used a private email address to conduct Town business, and that no responsive records from that email address had been provided to them. In a telephone conversation with this office on January 13, 2025, a representative for the Town confirmed that the requestor’s claim was accurate. Records Management Public records, including email records that pertain to Town business, must be maintained and kept in a manner that allows access by the general public, as they are subject to mandatory disclosure upon request. G. L. c. 66, § 10(a); see also Reinstein v. Police Comm’r of Boston, 378 Mass. 281, 289-90 (1979). Whenever original public records are created outside the municipal offices, they must be transferred on a regular and frequent basis to secure storage in the municipal building. See G. L. c. 66, § 1. Even where it is necessary to keep original public records in a location other than the municipal building, the records access officer has a duty to maintain copies of those records within the municipal building and make the public records available in a location convenient to the general public for inspection and copying. Id. In this matter, the requestor sought email records that are in the possession of an identified Town employee. The Town has indicated that such emails may relate to Town business, and are not retained in the Town’s email servers. I find that the Town has not met its burden in requesting and retaining emails from the identified employee that pertain to Town business. The Town has a duty to request from the identified employee the emails that they possess within their private email address that pertain to Town business, and retain those emails in accordance with both applicable law as well as the municipal records retention schedules. See G. L. c. 66, §§ 8, 13, 15. In addition, once the Town is in possession of those emails, it must provide the requestor with the records, subject to any exemptions that may apply to the contents. Conclusion Accordingly, the Town is ordered to provide the requestor 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. The requestor may appeal the substantive nature of the Town’s response within ninety days. See 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1).

Kathleen Rocco SPR25/0038 Page 3 January 13, 2025 Sincerely, Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records cc: The Crew