Brower, William v. West Springfield, Town of (SPR 20261076)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records April 3, 2026 SPR26/1076 Kate R. O’Brien Scott, Esq. Chief of Staff/General Counsel Town of West Springfield 26 Central Street, Suite 32 West Springfield, MA 01089 Dear Attorney Scott: I have received the petition of William Brower appealing the response of the Town of West Springfield (Town) to a request for public records. See G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). On February 28, 2026, Mr. Brower made the following request: Please produce the following records for [an identified individual] from the date she began employment with the Town to present: [1] All records related to her bar admission and current bar certification, including date of admission to the Massachusetts Bar, bar number, current status, and any disciplinary history or complaints filed against her in her professional capacity. [2] Records of her law degree, including the name of the institution, date of graduation, and any supporting documentation. [3] All training records, certificates, completion dates, attendance logs, and continuing legal education (CLE) credits related to:  Public Records Law (M.G.L. c. 66 and c. 4)[;]  Handling, classification, and processing of complaints and grievances[;]  Personnel records, exemptions under M.G.L. c. 4 § 7(26), and the definition of “complaint” or “grievance” in the context of employee personnel files[;]  Ethics, impartiality, and recordkeeping obligations for municipal counsel and records access officers[.] 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

Kate R. O’Brien Scott, Esq. SPR26/1076 Page 2 April 3, 2026 [4] Any internal policies, manuals, guidance documents, or memoranda issued or received by [an identified individual] concerning what constitutes a “complaint” or “grievance” for purposes of personnel files or public records requests. [5] Any performance evaluations, supervisory notes, or disciplinary records involving [an identified individual] related to her duties as Records Access Officer or General Counsel. [6] All complaints, grievances, incidents, notes, or communications alleging misconduct by [an identified individual] in her official capacity as Records Access Officer, including any allegation that she has misrepresented or misclassified written allegations of misconduct as “not a complaint or grievance,” or failed to treat such documents as formal complaints or grievances under the Public Records Law. The Town responded on March 10, 2026. Unsatisfied with the Town’s response, Mr. Brower petitioned this office and this appeal, SPR26/1076, 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. The Town’s March 10th Response In its March 10, 2026 response, the Town provided records responsive to Items 2 and 3 of the request. Regarding Item 1, the Town stated, “[t]his information is publicly available from the Massachusetts BBO… There are no records in the Town’s possession that are responsive to this request.”

Kate R. O’Brien Scott, Esq. SPR26/1076 Page 3 April 3, 2026 Regarding Items 4, 5, and 6, the Town stated, “[n]o records exist that are responsive to [these] request[s].” Current Appeal In his appeal petition, Mr. Brower argued that not all responsive records had been provided and stated, “[t]he response from [the Town] is deficient, evasive, and appears to be bad- faith obstruction to avoid accountability for serious allegations… The Town cannot receive a formal complaint and then deny its existence or relevance.” In a telephone conversation with this office on March 31, 2026, the Town confirmed that it possesses no additional records responsive to the request. No Duty to Create Records Please be advised, under the Public Records Law a custodian is not required to create a record in response to a public records request. See G. L. c. 66, § 6A(d). In addition, a public employee is not required to answer questions, or do research, or create documents in response to questions. See 32 Op. Att’y Gen. 157, 165 (May 18, 1977). Further, 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). Conclusion Given that the Town has confirmed that it possesses no additional records responsive to Mr. Brower’s request, and this office has no authority to compel the Town to create records, I will consider this administrative appeal closed. If Mr. Brower 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: William Brower