Ada Zhong v. Westwood, Town of - Clerk's Office (SPR 20251254)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records May 13, 2025 SPR25/1254 Dorothy A. Powers Town Clerk Town of Westwood Town Hall 530 High Street Westwood, MA 02090 Dear Ms. Powers: I have received the petition of Ada Zhong appealing the response of the Town of Westwood (Town) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). On March 25, 2025, Ms. Zhong requested, “. . . access to the FY2024 payroll public record.” The Town responded on April 7, 2025. Unsatisfied with the response, Ms. Zhong petitioned this office and this appeal, SPR25/1254, was opened as a result. Subsequently, the Town provided a response on May 7, 2025. 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 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

Dorothy Powers SPR25/1254 Page 2 May 13, 2025 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. The Town’s April 7th and May 7th Responses In its April 7, 2025 response, the Town provided Ms. Zhong with a PDF containing the FY2024 payroll data through its FOIA system. In its May 7, 2025 response, the Town stated, “[t]he record provided to Ms. Zhong is a complete and accurate copy of the Town’s FY2024 payroll report, as it exists…in the FY2024 payroll report, the fields labeled ‘Salaries 2024’ and ‘Overtime 2024’ together comprise ‘Gross Wages 2024’ for most employees. The exception is employees who received private detail pay, which is included in Gross Wages but funded by outside sources, not public funds. There is no such report that includes private detail pay in total gross wages.” Current appeal In her appeal, Ms. Zhong stated the following: On April 7, 2025, I received documents through the [T]own’s FOIA system. Upon reviewing them, I noticed that the records appear [to be] incomplete, as the “Salaries 2024” and “Overtime 2024” columns do not add up to the “Gross Wages 2024” column, suggesting that some data may be missing or inaccurate. On April 14, 2025, I. . . request[ed] a complete version of the records. . . and an explanation for the discrepancies. I respectfully request [the Public Records Division’s] guidance in asking the Town to: [1] Provide the complete FY2024 payroll records in Excel format, with accurate data for all columns, including any additional categories needed to reconcile the gross wages[;] [2] Offer clarification on the discrepancies in the initial response and the lack of reply to my follow-up emails. 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).

Dorothy Powers SPR25/1254 Page 3 May 13, 2025 In a written communication between the Public Records Division, the Town, and Ms. Zhong on May 7, 2025, the Town confirmed that it has no additional records responsive to Ms. Zhong’s request. Additionally, the Town explained the observed discrepancies in the record provided to Ms. Zhong. Conclusion Where the Town has confirmed that is does not possess any additional records responsive to Ms. Zhong’s request, and has no duty to create records responsive to the request, I will now consider this administrative appeal closed. If Ms. Zhong 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: Ada Zhong