Shawn D. Blankenship v. North Brookfield, Town of (SPR 20250169)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records January 22, 2025 SPR25/0169 Tara Hayes Town Clerk North Brookfield 215 North Main Street North Brookfield, MA 01535 Dear Ms. Hayes: I have received the petition of Shawn D. Blankenship appealing the response of the Town of North Brookfield (Town) to a request for public records. See G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). On January 5, 2025, Mr. Blankenship requested the salary and dates of employment for an identified individual. The Town provided a response on January 17, 2025. Unsatisfied with the response, Mr. Blankenship petitioned this office and this appeal, SPR25/0169, 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

Tara Hayes SPR25/0169 Page 2 January 22, 2025 The Town’s January 17th Response In its January 17, 2024 response, the Town stated: In response to your request, you are asking for the dates of employment of [an identified individual] and [their] salary. As I responded to you in your Public Records Request of December 12, 2024, there are no responsive records for this request. The Ambulance Squad/EMS is a private company. You will need to contact them directly for any information. There are still no responsive records in our offices, nor does the Fire Department have responsive records for this request. Current Appeal In his January 20, 2025 petition to this office, Mr. Blankenship characterized the Town’s response as an intentional withholding of responsive records. 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 Given that the Town possesses no records responsive to Mr. Blankenship’s request and this office has no authority to compel the Town to create records, I will now consider this administrative appeal closed. If Mr. Blankenship is not satisfied with the resolution of this administrative appeal, please be advised that this office shares jurisdiction with the Superior Court of the Commonwealth. See G. L. c. 66, §§ 10(b)(ix), 10A(c) (pursuing administrative appeal does not limit availability of judicial remedies). Sincerely, Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records cc: Shawn D. Blankenship