Saul Casdin v. Cummington, Town of - (SPR 20250088)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records January 22, 2025 SPR25/0088 Monica Vandoloski Town of Cummington 33 Main Street Cummington, MA 01026 Dear Ms. Vandoloski: I have received the petition of Saul Casdin appealing the response of the Town of Cummington (Town) to a request for public records. See G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). On December 16, 2024, Mr. Casdin requested, “all items billed through the police department’s expense account for the last 6 years.” The Town responded on January 5 and January 7, 2025, providing some records. Unsatisfied with the responses, Mr. Casdin petitioned this office and this appeal, SPR25/0088, 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

Monica Vandoloski SPR25/0088 Page 2 January 22, 2025 The Town’s Responses In its January 5, 2025 response, the Town provided records and stated, “[s]ome of the information you’re looking for may be included in town reports. Take a look at the Fiscal Year 2019 Town Report on page 19. There’s a section called ‘001.210.5400 – Police Department’ - is this the kind of information you’re looking for?” In its January 7, 2025 response, the Town stated, “I am writing to let you know that we have received your requests and that we are in the process of requesting information from the appropriate Town Departments as to the cost (time and copy costs) to respond to your requests. Once we receive the cost estimates, we will provide it to you. We will then coordinate processing the information upon receipt of your payment.” Current Appeal In his appeal, Mr. Casdin states, “I am writing to appeal to the Supervisor of Records related to not receiving records related to the attached public information request in the town of Cummington… This Email is from… the selectboard saying that they are still calculating costs of a request from 12-16-24 and when they have that part completed and collect payment then they will process my 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 the Town’s responses, it is unclear whether the Town possesses additional records responsive to the request. The Town must clarify this matter. Conclusion Accordingly, the Town is ordered to provide Mr. Casdin 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.

Monica Vandoloski SPR25/0088 Page 3 January 22, 2025 Sincerely, Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records cc: Saul Casdin