Julia Ducey v. Southbridge, Town of - Office of the Town Manager (SPR 20251328)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records May 23, 2025 SPR25/1328 Mathew Fitton Executive Assistant to the Town Manager Town Manager’s Office Town of Southbridge 41 Elm Street Southbridge, MA 01550 Dear Mr. Fitton: I have received the petition of Julia Ducey appealing the response of the Town of Southbridge (Town) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). On April 14, 2025, Ms. Ducey requested, “… the liquor board license meeting minutes for the entire year of 2019.” Previous Appeal This request was the subject of a previous appeal. See SPR25/1216 Determination of the Supervisor of Records (May 13, 2025). In my May 13th determination, it was my understanding that the Town provided Ms. Ducey with a response. The Town responded on May 12, 2025. Unsatisfied with the Town’s response, Ms. Ducey petitioned this office and this appeal, SPR25/1328, 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 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

Mathew Fitton SPR25/1328 Page 2 May 23, 2025 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. The Town’s May 12th Response In its May 12, 2025 response, the Town stated that “[e]lectronic link to reports sent to requester via email prior to and including 4/22/25.” Current Appeal In her May 13, 2025 petition to this office, Ms. Ducey asserted, “I am just looking to get the meeting minutes sent to me as requested.” Ms. Ducey also stated, “[t]he minutes on the website aren’t correct, when I open the Jan 21 minutes it opens to November 21. And when I open Jan 31 minutes it opens to March 11. There’s a few other discrepancies but it’s not really helpful for me to reference the website. I also specifically requested in my foia request to have the PDFs sent through email and not a link to the site.” Please be advised that it is permissible for the custodian of records to provide access to records via a link to a website. See G. L. c. 66, §6A(d) (“If the public record requested is available on a public website ... the records access officer may furnish the public record by providing reasonable assistance in locating the requested record on the public website.”); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.04 (5)(e) (“A records access officer shall ... to the extent feasible, furnish the public records by providing reasonable assistance in locating the records on an appropriately indexed and searchable public website”); 950 C.M.R. 32.07 (2)(a) (“A records access officer shall inform a requester of the availability of records online to avoid delays and fees associated with the provision of public records”). However, based on Ms. Ducey’s appeal it appears the links to the websites provided by the Town may not correspond with the requested records. The Town must provide reasonable assistance to Ms. Ducey in locating the requested record on the public website. Conclusion Accordingly, the Town is ordered to provide Ms. Ducey with a response to the request, provided in a manner consistent with this order, the Public Records Law and its Regulations within ten (10) 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.

Mathew Fitton SPR25/1328 Page 3 May 23, 2025 Sincerely, Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records cc: Julia Ducey