Lauren Kenney v. East Brookfield, Town of - Office of the Town Clerk (SPR 20252230)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records August 8, 2025 SPR25/2230 Susan Jacobs Town Clerk Town of East Brookfield 122 Connie Mack Drive East Brookfield, MA 01515 Dear Ms. Jacobs: I have received the petition of Lauren Kenney, of Tolman Home Solutions, LLC, appealing the response of the Town of East Brookfield (Town) to a request for public records. See G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). On July 23, 2025, Ms. Kenney requested “…a copy of any wiring permits obtained for …Podunk Rd in the last year.” The Town responded on July 23, 2025. Unsatisfied with the Town’s response, Ms. Kenney petitioned this office and this appeal, SPR25/2230, 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

Susan Jacobs SPR25/2230 Page 2 August 8, 2025 The Town’s July 23rd Response In its July 23, 2025 response, the Town Clerk stated, “[y]ou will need to reach out to the Wiring Inspector. I do not have those records in my office and seldom see him.” After Ms. Kenney stated that the Town Wiring Inspector would not provide her with a copy of the responsive wiring permit, the Town Clerk responded, “I do not have access to these records, public or not. You will need to get a copy from [the Wiring Inspector].” Current Appeal In her appeal petition, Ms. Kenney stated, “…we are trying to obtain [an electrical permit] from the wiring inspector in East Brookfield for insurance purposes. He is being beyond difficult to deal with and not willing to send us a copy clearly... I’ve been going back and forth with him for over a week now and still have got nowhere.” In addition, Ms. Kenney provided this office with email correspondence between Tolman Home Solutions, LLC and the Town Wiring Inspector from July 22, 2025 through July 29, 2025, in which the Wiring Inspector repeatedly declined to provide the responsive wiring permit to anyone other than “the licensed contractor that filed the application for electrical work.” On July 31, 2025, the Town Clerk reached out to the Town Wiring Inspector and stated, “[t]his is a legitimate Public Records Request and by law, you must provide what is being asked for…” In an email to this office on August 6, 2025, Ms. Kenney stated that the request for the permit was “still outstanding… and not per the clerk.” Burden of Specificity Under the Public Records Law, the burden shall be on the custodian to establish the applicability of an exemption to withhold or redact public records. In this case, based on the responses from the Town, it appears the Town Wiring Inspector withheld the record without claiming any exemption(s) in the Public Records Law that would support the withholding of the responsive record. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(b)(iv) (a written response must “identify any records, categories of records or portions of records that the agency or municipality intends to withhold, and provide the specific reasons for such withholding, including the specific exemption or exemptions upon which the withholding is based”). See also Globe Newspaper Co.v. Police Comm’r, 419 Mass. 852, 857 (1995); Flatley, 419 Mass. at 511. The Town must clarify this matter. Conclusion Accordingly, the Town is ordered to provide Ms. Kenney with a response to the request, provided in a manner consistent with this order, the Public Records Law and its Regulations

Susan Jacobs SPR25/2230 Page 3 August 8, 2025 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. Ms. Kenney may appeal the substantive nature of the Town’s response within ninety (90) days. See 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Sincerely, Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records cc: Lauren Kenney