McLeod, Spencer v. Southborough, Town of (SPR 20261252)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records April 17, 2026 SPR26/1252 Mark J. Purple Town Administrator Town of Southborough 17 Common Street Southborough, MA 01772 Dear Mr. Purple: I have received the petition of Spencer McLeod appealing the response of the Town of Southborough (Town) to a request for public records. See G. L. c. 66 § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). On April 3, 2026, Mr. McLeod requested the following: [C]opies of all records in the possession, custody, or control of the Town, including the Building Department and any other relevant departments or officials, related to the Certificate of Occupancy for: [an identified address][;] Building Permit: BP-25-18. This request includes all records submitted to, received by, or created by the Town in connection with the request for, review of, or issuance of a Certificate of Occupancy under BP-25-18, including: [1] Any application, request, or submission for a Certificate of Occupancy[;] [2] Any final cost affidavit[;] [3] Any construction control documents, engineer certifications, or letters of compliance[;] [4] Any final inspection reports, checklists, or sign-off sheets associated with CO issuance[;] [5] The Certificate of Occupancy, as issued[;] [6] All correspondence, including emails, letters, memoranda, and internal notes relating to the CO request, review, or issuance[;] [7] Any records reflecting the basis for, or evaluation supporting, the decision to issue the Certificate of Occupancy[.] The Town provided a response on April 6, 2026. Unsatisfied with the Town’s response, 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

Mark J. Purple SPR26/1252 Page 2 April 17, 2026 Mr. McLeod petitioned this office and this appeal, SPR26/1252, 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. See 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. See 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 April 6th Response In its April 6, 2026 response, the Town provided records and stated, “[t]he documents relative to this request that were created after Request 25-143 on November 20, 2025 have been uploaded. The rest of the documents can be found under Request 25-143 at this site as it has already been fulfilled: [website link provided].” Current Appeal In his April 6, 2026 appeal, Mr. McLeod stated the following: … The Town’s response consists of two documents: (1) the issued Certificate of Occupancy and (2) a system-generated “Close Record” log. No additional records were provided. The request sought multiple distinct categories of records related to the request, review of, and issuance of the Certificate of Occupancy… The Town did not produce any records responsive to [Items 1-4 and 6-7], nor did it state that such records do not exist…

Mark J. Purple SPR26/1252 Page 3 April 17, 2026 Based on Mr. McLeod’s petition and the Town’s response, it is unclear whether the Town possesses additional responsive records. 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). However, 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). To the extent that responsive records exist, I find the Town must provide them in a manner consistent with the Public Records Law or identify an exemption that applies to withhold the records from disclosure. G. L. c. 66, § 10(b). Conclusion Accordingly, the Town is ordered to provide Mr. McLeod with a response to the 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. Mr. McLeod 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: Spencer McLeod