Erik J. Heels v. Acton, Town of - Town Clerk (SPR 20251772)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records July 2, 2025 SPR25/1772 Leo Mercado Town Clerk Town of Acton 472 Main Street Acton, MA 01720 Dear Mr. Mercado: I have received the petition of Erik Heels appealing the response of the Town of Acton (Town) to a request for public records. See G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). On May 30, 2025, Mr. Heels requested: [1] [C]opies of all documents/papers required for a candidate to ‘pull papers’ to run for Select Board, including, but not limited to, nomination papers, for the 2024, 2025, and 2026 election years….[;] [2] [T]he URL of the Acton Town website page that provides information about how prospective candidates can run for office. The Town responded on June 18, 2025. Unsatisfied with the Town’s response and claiming the Town possesses additional responsive records, Mr. Heels appealed, and this case, SPR25/1772, 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. 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

Leo Mercado SPR25/1772 Page 2 July 2, 2025 Att’y 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 June 18th response In its June 18, 2025 response, the Town states it “has previously sent you the request for nomination papers and you have returned a completed copy. The nomination papers will need to be picked up in person at the Town Clerk’s office. The requested URL does not exist at this time.” Current Appeal In his appeal petition, Mr. Heels states: [T]he 2025-06-18 letter stating that ‘all records have been released’ is factually incorrect. In addition to the (apparently non-existing) URL, I requested ‘copies of all documents/papers required for a candidate to ‘pull papers’ to run for select board, including, but not limited to, nomination papers, for the 2024, 2025, and 2026 election years,’ and five of the six documents have not been provided to me. In other words, I have not received (1) 2024 request for nomination papers form, (2) 2024 actual nomination papers, (3) 2025 request for nomination papers form, (4) 2025 actual nomination papers, and (5) 2026 actual nomination papers. The only document provided was the 2026 request for nomination papers form. I have a reasonable reason for requesting the 2024 and 2025 documents, not the least of which is that these are public documents…. 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). 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). However, 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 information provided in Mr. Heels’ appeal petition, it is unclear whether the Town possesses additional responsive records. The Town must clarify this.

Leo Mercado SPR25/1772 Page 3 July 2, 2025 Conclusion Accordingly, the Town is ordered to provide Mr. Heels with a response to his 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. Sincerely, Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records cc: Erik Heels