Citizen, Concerned v. Lanesborough, Town of (SPR 20261270)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records April 15, 2026 SPR26/1270 Ruth Knysh Records Access Officer Town of Lanesborough 83 North Main Street Lanesborough, MA 01237 Dear Ms. Knysh: I have received the petition of Anonymous Requestor (requestor) appealing the response of the Town of Lanesborough (Town) to a request for public records. See G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). On April 2, 2026, the requestor sought: . . . copies of all emails sent from the [specified email address] to any of the following Town of Lanesborough officials: Town Clerk[,] Town Administrator[,] [and] Building Inspector for the time period beginning February 1, 2026 through April 1, 2026, inclusive. This request includes the full content of each email, along with any attachments, metadata, and correspondence threads associated with the communications. The Town responded on April 7, 2026. Unsatisfied with the response, the requestor petitioned this office and this appeal, SPR26/1270, was opened as a result. Subsequently, the Town provided further responses on April 8, 2026 and April 13, 2026. 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). 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

Ruth Knysh SPR26/1270 Page 2 April 15, 2026 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. 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. Current Appeal In the requestor’s appeal petition, the requestor contends, “[t]he Town clerk responded on 4/7/26 stating that no such records exist. However, we have reason to believe these records are being withheld. We have been informed by the third party that sent the email that the specific correspondence in question was indeed sent to the Town Clerk.” In an email to this office on April 13, 2026, the requestor further contends, “I believe the town manager is withholding the email.” The Town’s April 7th Response On April 7, 2026, the Town stated, “. . . the Town Clerk’s office has no emails from the [specified email address].” No Duty to Create Records 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 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). Subsequent to the opening of this appeal, on April 8, 2026, the Town provided a responsive record and stated, “[u]pon receiving your original records request below, I did a thorough search through my emails for the specific email address . . . and nothing came up. After receiving the response from [an identified individual], I see that my email was listed. I investigated further and found an email which came up as [an identified individual] . . . .” On April 9, 2026, the requestor further asked the Town, “[i]s that the only email or is there another email from February?” On April 13, 2026, the Town confirmed, “I have not found an additional email from [the specified email address] from February, only the email and

Ruth Knysh SPR26/1270 Page 3 April 15, 2026 attachment from March 16 that I provided last week.” Conclusion Where the Town confirmed that it does not possess additional records responsive to the request, and this office has no authority to compel the Town to create records, I will consider this administrative appeal closed. If the requestor 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: Anonymous Requestor