Yang, David v. Wellesley, Town of - Town Clerk (SPR 20261345)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records April 24, 2026 SPR26/1345 K.C. Kato Records Access Officer Town of Wellesley 525 Washington Street, First Floor Wellesley, MA 02482 Dear Ms. Kato: I have received the petition of David Yang appealing the response of the Town of Holbrook (Town) to a request for public records. See G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). On February 23, 2026, Mr. Yang requested the following: …an electronic copy of all abatements that the Board of Assessors has granted at least in the last ten years. If you can easily create the file for the last 20 years (or as far back as you can go, outputting the same digital file) I would appreciate it. I am interested in an Excel, csv, or other structured data file listing these abatements. I understand that abatement applications recently filed have not yet been determined. I am interested in all fields you have on the granted abatements, including filing dates, decision dates, assessed values, abatement amounts, etc. In addition to the address information of the property. If you have the information in your abatement log about the parcel id or map, block, and lot information, I would like that as well. Previous Appeal This request was the subject of a previous appeal. See SPR26/1055 Determination of the Supervisor of Records (April 3, 2026). In my April 3rd determination, I ordered the Town to provide Mr. Yang with a written response. Subsequently, the Town responded on April 6, 2026. Unsatisfied with the response, Mr. Yang petitioned this office and this appeal, SPR26/1345, was opened as a result. 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

K.C. Kato SPR26/1345 Page 2 April 24, 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). 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 April 6th Response In its April 6, 2026 response, the Town stated, “[p]er your request and our correspondence on March 24, 2026, and MGL Chapter 59, Section 60, Records of Abatements, attached please find the information below for 10 years.” Current Appeal In his appeal petition, Mr. Yang contends, “[w]hile the Town provided a list of abatements as required by M.G.L. c. 59, § 60, they have excluded all geographic identifiers, including property addresses and parcel IDs. This omission renders the data virtually useless for any meaningful analysis or public oversight.” Additional Records The Town is 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, 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 Mr. Yang’s appeal, it is unclear whether the Town possesses additional records responsive to the request. The Town must clarify this matter.

K.C. Kato SPR26/1345 Page 3 April 24, 2026 Conclusion Accordingly, the Town is ordered to provide Mr. Yang 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. Yang may appeal the substantive nature of the Town’s response within ninety days. See 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Sincerely, Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records cc: David Yang