James Carver v. Westwood, Town of - Town Administrator (SPR 20251561)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records June 13, 2025 SPR25/1561 Dorothy A. Powers Town Clerk Town of Westwood 530 High Street Westwood, MA 02090 Dear Ms. Powers: I have received the petition of James Carver appealing the response of the Town of Westwood (Town) to a request for public records. See G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). On May 5, 2025, Mr. Carver requested the following records related to the financial transactions of the Aid to the Elderly and Disabled Tax Fund for Fiscal Year 2024: [1] Transaction logs or ledgers detailing deposits, withdrawals, or disbursements for the Aid to the Elderly and Disabled Tax Fund[;] [2] Financial statements or reports summarizing the fund’s activity, including donations received and payments made for tax relief or other purposes[;] [3] Any annual or periodic reports prepared by the Aid to the Elderly and Disabled Tax Fund Committee regarding the fund’s financial status or transactions[;] [4] Records of online donations made to the fund, as referenced on the Town’s website, including dates and amounts. Previous Appeal This request was the subject of a previous appeal. See SPR25/1433 Determination of the Supervisor of Records (June 2, 2025). In my June 2nd determination, I closed SPR25/1433 in light of the Town providing a response on May 23, 2025. Unsatisfied with the Town’s response, Mr. Carver petitioned this office, and this appeal, SPR25/1561, was opened as a result. While this appeal was pending, the Town provided a supplemental response to Mr. Carver and this office in an email dated June 4, 2025. 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 SPR25/1561 Page 2 June 13, 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 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 15th and May 23rd Responses In its previous May 15, 2025 response, regarding Items, 1, 2, and 4 of the request, the Town provided two PDFs as attachments and stated, “see attached report[.]” Regarding Item 3 of the request, the Town provided a URL to the “Annual Town Reports” section of its website and advised, “the aid to the elderly fund has a report each year in the Annual Town Report for Westwood[.]” In providing the URL, the Town additionally noted, “[f]or 2023, see page 54 of the report.” In its May 23, 2025 response, the Town advised that Mr. Carver’s May 5, 2025 request, as described above, “was a follow up to a similar request made on April 10[.]” The Town additionally indicated that Mr. Carver’s April 10th request sought the following: [1] A list of recipients who applied to the Aid to the Elderly and Disabled Tax Fund in 2024, including their addresses[;] [2] The amount of tax relief each recipient received[;] [3] Any additional public records related to this list. The Town further stated in its May 23rd response that “[b]oth of Mr. Carver’s requests were responded to appropriately, the April 10th request on April 11 and the May 5th request on May 15th[.] Mr. Carver has been provided all of the relevant documents in the possession of the Town.”

Dorothy Powers SPR25/1561 Page 3 June 13, 2025 Current Appeal In his June 3, 2025 appeal petition, Mr. Carver contends, “the Town’s May 23 [response] was not a supplemental production of records, but rather a letter . . . reiterating their prior position.” He additionally states, “I did not receive any additional records or further clarification in response to my original request.” Records in Existence 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). Additionally, under the Public Records Law, a public employee is not required to answer questions, or do research, or create documents in response to questions. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(a); 32 Op. Att’y Gen. 157, 165 (May 18, 1977). 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). Subsequent to the opening of this appeal, in its supplemental response to Mr. Carver and this office dated June 4, 2025, a representative of the Town stated, “[t]he Town has not [sic] additional response to this appeal. The recipient has been given all available records.” Conclusion Where the Town confirmed that it does not possess additional records responsive to Mr. Carver’s request, I will now consider this administrative appeal closed. If Mr. Carver 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: James Carver Molly Fitzpatrick