Open Commonwealth, v. Malden, City of (SPR 20261442)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records April 27, 2026 SPR26/1442 Carol Ann Desiderio City Clerk City of Malden 215 Pleasant Street Malden, MA 02148 Dear Ms. Desiderio: I have received the petition of OpenCommonwealth (requestor) appealing the response of the City of Malden (City) to a request for public records. See G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). On March 26, 2026, the requestor sought “…any teams/zoom or other audio and visual recordings of the meeting(s) and the draft and final minutes of the meeting(s), any notes, recordings or other materials used in the preparation of such minutes and all documents and exhibits used at the sessions, for the following [49 identified] meetings and dates[.]” The City responded on April 4, 2026. Unsatisfied with the City’s response, the requestor petitioned this office and this appeal, SPR26/1442, 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. 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

Carol Ann Desiderio SPR26/1442 Page 2 April 27, 2026 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 April 4th Response In its April 4, 2026 response, a City official stated: …you have submitted a list of 49 individual dates, one of which is a duplicate… Of the 48 dates, there exist only 15 responsive records from 13 dates. All the other dates you have listed are occasions that either 1) no meetings were scheduled; 2) a meeting was held but no executive session was scheduled; or 3) an executive session was scheduled but not entered into due to the Council voting to have the discussion in open session. Of those occasions wherein a motion to enter executive session failed and the discussion was held in open session, meeting minutes are posted online for public review via either the Legistar database or Agenda Center… This information may be confirmed using the calendar search function for Council meeting dates at [an identified] link. The dates that have no responsive records are as follows: 1/28/2020, 2/11/2020, 2/25/2020, 3/10/2020, 1/19/2021, 3/9/2021, 6/22/2021, 6/29/2021, 8/17/2021, 9/7/2021, 3/1/2022, 3/15/2022, 3/21/2022, 8/9/2022, 11/1/2022, 11/17/2022, 12/14/2022, 2/14/2023, 1/23/2024, 1/30/2024, 2/6/2024, 2/13/2024, 2/27/2024, 5/7/2024, 9/10/2024, 10/8/2024, 3/25/2025, 6/3/2025, 6/17/2025, 9/2/2025, 11/25/2025, 12/2/2025, 12/9/2025, 1/13/2026, 1/27/2026. Of the 15 responsive records, 1 is attached for your review. 6 are still in draft form and were currently under review to be finalized prior to your request. The anticipated date for this scheduled review to be complete is April 15. 8 are already in final form but are not yet approved for release. I am currently working in conjunction with Council President and City Solicitor to coordinate for this review. As of right now I do not have a confirmed date for this review but will alert you as soon as possible. I reasonably expect it to be completed before the next regularly scheduled meeting of the City Council on April 21. Current Appeal In the appeal petition, the requestor argued: On Tuesday April 14, 2026, the Malden City Council met, discussed, and voted and ordered the release… [of] the executive session minutes from: April 20, 2021, March 8, 2022, February 28, 2023, April 30, 2024, June 25, 2024, July 24, 2024,

Carol Ann Desiderio SPR26/1442 Page 3 April 27, 2026 March 11, 2025… As of the date of this appeal, none of these records have been released. Also on Tuesday April 14, 2026, the Malden City Council met, discussed, and were told that the chair and city solicitor were withholding in their entirety following requested public records, the executive session minutes from: September 21, 2021, March 14, 2023, April 30, 2024, October 14, 2025, October 28, 2025, December 16, 2025, February 24, 2026… As of the date of this appeal, none of these records have been released. In an email to this office and the City on April 16, 2026, following correspondence with the City, the requestor stated, “[w]ith respect to the executive session minutes for 4/20/2021, 3/8/2022, 2/28/2023, 4/30/2024, 6/25/2024, 7/24/2024, and 3/11/2025, they have been received.” Open Meeting Law The requestor’s appeal petition, along with the City’s response, raise issues potentially related to the Open Meeting Law. See G. L. c. 30A, § 22(f). Given that an interpretation of the Open Meeting Law falls within the authority of the Attorney General’s Office (AGO) and not this office, I am unable to address those issues in this determination. See G. L. c. 30A, § 23. I encourage the parties to contact the AGO for a determination on the status of the outstanding executive session minutes. Conclusion Accordingly, I will consider this administrative appeal closed. Sincerely, Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records cc: OpenCommonwealth Joanne Perperian