McLeod, Spencer v. Southborough, Town of (SPR 20262341)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records June 29, 2026 SPR26/2341 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 June 9, 2026, Mr. McLeod requested the following: [A]ny and all inspection records in the possession, custody, or control of the Town of Southborough, including but not limited to records maintained by the Building Department, for the building permits and associated mechanical permits identified below. By “inspection records,” I mean the complete inspection history maintained for each permit, including every inspection, re-inspection, inspection attempt, and recorded inspection event associated with the permit. … For each permit listed below, I request records sufficient to identify, for every inspection event: [1] The date of the inspection[;] [2] The type of inspection (for example: foundation, framing, rough, insulation, electrical, plumbing/gas, mechanical rough, mechanical final, final building, certificate of occupancy, or any re-inspection)[;] [3] The result of the inspection (pass, fail, partial, incomplete, canceled, no access, or other recorded disposition)[;] [4] The name of the inspector who performed or recorded the inspection[;] [5] Any inspector comments, notes, conditions, corrections, or deficiencies recorded in connection with the inspection[.] … 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 SPR26/2341 Page 2 June 29, 2026 To avoid doubt, I request the complete inspection history maintained for each permit and not merely a permit summary page or final permit status record. The Town provided a response on June 9, 2026. Unsatisfied with the Town’s response, Mr. McLeod petitioned this office and this appeal, SPR26/2341, 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 June 9th Response In its June 9, 2026 response, the Town provided records and stated, The inspection information you requested related to building permits, including permit information and inspection history, is publicly available through the Town’s OpenGov Permitting Portal: https://southboroughma.portal.opengov.com/ Current Appeal In his June 22, 2026 appeal, Mr. McLeod stated the following: The inspection history data exists within the Town’s OpenGov permitting system. However, when a member of the public searches the identified permit numbers through the Town’s public portal, the inspection histories requested are not displayed. The information sought in my request, including inspection events, inspection results, inspector identities, and inspection comments, is available only to accounts that have been granted permit-specific access privileges. All of the

Mark J. Purple SPR26/2341 Page 3 June 29, 2026 records I have requested are public records hosted on the OpenGov portal, but none of them are publicly available. 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 the information provided in Mr. McLeod’s appeal petition, it is unclear whether the Town possesses additional records responsive to the request. If the Town does possess additional responsive records, it must either provide the records, or cite an exemption to the Public Records Law, and explain with specificity how such an exemption applies to withhold or redact the records. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(b)(iv) (a written response must “identify any records, categories of records or portions of records that the agency or municipality intends to withhold, and provide the specific reasons for such withholding, including the specific exemption or exemptions upon which the withholding is based”). The Town must clarify this matter. 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