Brandon M. Hayes v. Boston, City of - Public Records (SPR 20253635)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records December 19, 2025 SPR25/3635 Grace Jung Director of Public Records City of Boston 1 City Hall Square, Room 615 Boston, MA 02201 Dear Ms. Jung: I have received the petition of Brandon Michael Hayes appealing the response of the City of Boston (City) to a request for public records. See G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). On November 4, 2025, Mr. Hayes requested the following: Records Requested (produce in PDF/CSV/native) [1] Auditor Access Requests: All letters, emails, subpoenas, or formal correspondence sent by the Office of the State Auditor (OSA) to your office/agency requesting audit access or information. [2] Responses/Denials: All replies, denials, or access-limitation responses provided to OSA, including any stated legal bases. [3] Internal/Inter-Agency Communications: Emails, memos, or messages that reference any of: “audit authority”, “auditor access”, “access denial”, “OSA”, “legislation” (re: Auditor powers), or “rally” (context: public discussions of Auditor authority). [4] Comptroller/Tracking Logs: Any logs, spreadsheets, dashboards, or lists noting departments or authorities that restricted OSA access and the cited legal basis. [5] Executive Coordination: Communications between your office and the Attorney General and/or the Governor’s Legal Counsel about Auditor scope, access, or limitations. 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

Grace Jung SPR25/3635 Page 2 December 19, 2025 [6] City of Boston Interfaces: Any correspondence or memoranda between your office and the City of Boston regarding Auditor authority or specific OSA requests. [7] City Auditor ↔ State Auditor: City audit plans, schedules, or correspondence with OSA. [8] Supervisor of Records (SEC/SPR) items: Appeals, determinations, or advisories in 2024–2025 that include the keywords “Auditor”, “audit authority”, or “access denied”. [9] Massachusetts Municipal Association Guidance (if in your custody): Any MMA memoranda or guidance to municipalities regarding how to respond to OSA audit requests. [10] Inspector General Materials (if in your custody): OIG investigations, referrals, or communications concerning obstruction or limitation of OSA access. Search Parameters (to speed fulfillment) Date range: Jan 1, 2023 – present. Locations: Agency email (M365/Exchange), Teams/Slack or similar, document repositories (SharePoint/Drive), and official text/SMS used for government business. Keywords (Boolean examples): (“audit authority” OR “auditor access” OR “access denial” OR “OSA” OR “State Auditor” OR “Dizoglio”) OR (auditor NEAR/3 access) OR (legislation NEAR/5 auditor) Custodians: Records custodians and any personnel likely to handle OSA requests (legal, compliance, executive, audit). The City responded on November 19, 2025, and assigned reference number R005967- 110425 to this request. Unsatisfied with the City’s response, Mr. Hayes petitioned this office, and this appeal, SPR25/3635, 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).

Grace Jung SPR25/3635 Page 3 December 19, 2025 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 City’s November 19th Response In its November 19, 2025 response, the City states that “[t]his request does not fall under the purview of the city of Boston, therefore, there are no responsive records. Please refer to the State for more information and potential records, if existing.” Current Appeal In his appeal petition, Mr. Hayes indicates that he believes the City possess records responsive to his request, and he requests that this office “order immediate rolling production.” He also contends that “[t]he City asserted ‘no contact’ with the State Auditor, but . . . OSA produced responsive documents.” Records in Existence; Possession, Custody, or Control Please be 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). Further, 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 City’s response, and the information provided in Mr. Hayes’ appeal petition, it is unclear whether the City possesses records responsive to any of the categories listed in the request. If the City does possess responsive records, it must either provide the records, or cite an exemption to the Public Records Law, and explain with specificity how such an exemption applies to withhold or redact the records. 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”).

Grace Jung SPR25/3635 Page 4 December 19, 2025 Conclusion Accordingly, the City is ordered to provide Mr. Hayes 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. Mr. Hayes may further appeal the substantive nature of the City’s response within ninety (90) days. See 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Sincerely, Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records cc: Brandon Michael Hayes