Executive Session Minutes (Middlesex County) (Somerville City Clerk)

Dear Ms. Russell:

This e-mail is in response to your below public records request to the Somerville City Clerk dated October 25, 2016. After review of your request, I am writing to inform you that there are no responsive records to your request, as there is not a Board of Selectmen of the City of Somerville. This transmittal completes the record custodian's response to your request.

Respectfully,

Jason D. Grossfield
Assistant City Solicitor
City of Somerville
93 Highland Avenue
Somerville, MA 02143
Phone: (617) 625-6600, ext. 4408
Fax: (617) 776-8847
E-Mail: jgrossfield@somervillema.gov<mailto:jgrossfield@somervillema.gov>
This message and any attached documents contain information which may be confidential, subject to privilege or exempt from disclosure under applicable law. However, when responding, please be aware that the Massachusetts Secretary of State has determined that most email is public record and therefore cannot be kept confidential. These materials are intended only for the use of the intended recipient. If you are not the intended recipient of this transmission, you are hereby notified that any distribution, disclosure, printing, copying, storage, modification or the taking of any action in reliance upon this transmission is strictly prohibited. Delivery of this message to any person other than the intended recipient shall not compromise or waive such confidentiality, privilege or exemption from disclosure as to this communication. If you have received this communication in error, please immediately notify the sender and delete the message from your system. Thank you.

Dear Ms. Russell:

This e-mail is in response to your below public records request to the Somerville City Clerk, dated November 4, 2016. After review of your request by the records custodian, I am writing to inform you that approximately thirty-three responsive records to your request have been identified. Your request is being processed and the responsive records will be provided to you in a timely manner in accordance with the Massachusetts public records law. Two of the responsive records are pending review by the public body at its next meeting to determine whether disclosure is permitted. Certain responsive records are subject to withholding or redaction, and the City Clerk’s supplemental response will specify the applicable exemption(s) or basis for the segregation of any record or portion thereof.

No fee has been assessed for complying with your request. You will receive a follow-up communication to supplement this response including the responsive records in a pdf format.

Respectfully,
Jason D. Grossfield
Assistant City Solicitor
City of Somerville
93 Highland Avenue
Somerville, MA 02143
Phone: (617) 625-6600, ext. 4408
Fax: (617) 776-8847
E-Mail: jgrossfield@somervillema.gov<mailto:jgrossfield@somervillema.gov>
This message and any attached documents contain information which may be confidential, subject to privilege or exempt from disclosure under applicable law. However, when responding, please be aware that the Massachusetts Secretary of State has determined that most email is public record and therefore cannot be kept confidential. These materials are intended only for the use of the intended recipient. If you are not the intended recipient of this transmission, you are hereby notified that any distribution, disclosure, printing, copying, storage, modification or the taking of any action in reliance upon this transmission is strictly prohibited. Delivery of this message to any person other than the intended recipient shall not compromise or waive such confidentiality, privilege or exemption from disclosure as to this communication. If you have received this communication in error, please immediately notify the sender and delete the message from your system. Thank you.

Dear Ms. Russell:

This e-mail supplements the prior response to your below public records request on behalf of the Somerville City Clerk.

Attached please find responsive records which are executive session minutes relating to thirty-three Board of Aldermen items. As previously indicated, responsive records relating to two Board of Aldermen items were pending review by the public body, which has been completed, and these records are included.

Portions of these records have been redacted as follows. The minutes relating to items held on 4/22/10, 5/13/10, 4/28/11, and 6/9/11 have been redacted under exemption (c) of the public records law. Under exemption (c) of the public records law, personnel files or information that is useful in making employment decisions regarding an employee is sufficiently personal to be exempt. The Supreme Judicial Court has held that “personnel files or information” includes “at a minimum...disciplinary documentation, and promotion, demotion, or termination information pertaining to a particular employee.” Exemption (c) also applies to any other materials or data relating to a specifically named individual, the disclosure of which may constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy. The second clause of the privacy exemption applies to records that implicate privacy interests, as to “intimate details of a highly personal nature.” Portions of records containing such information are exempt unless there is a paramount public interest in disclosure. The information as to personnel matters specific to named employee(s) has been redacted accordingly.

The minutes have also been redacted pursuant to attorney-client privilege. Where a communication is made: (1) in connection with the provision of legal advice to a public client (communications between the public entity and its attorney made with a view towards obtaining or providing legal advice); (2) communication made in confidence; and (3) the privilege must not have been waived, the records are subject to the privilege. See Commonwealth of Massachusetts Office of the Attorney General, Advisory on July 2007 SJC Ruling Regarding Confidential Communications Between Public Entities and their Attorneys.

The minutes for six Board of Aldermen items have been withheld pursuant to exemption (a) of the public records law, specifically the Open Meeting Law, MGL c. 30A, s. 22(f), which provides that minutes of an executive session may be withheld from disclosure to the public in their entirety, as long as publication may defeat the lawful purpose of the executive session. These minutes relate to executive sessions held on: 1/23/14, 5/22/14, 5/28/15, and 11/24/15. Such minutes may also be subject to segregation pursuant to the public records law, attorney-client privilege, or other applicable law.

This transmittal completes the record custodian’s response to your request. To the extent your records request has been denied, you may have the right to appeal under 950 CMR 32.00 and M.G.L. c. 66, § 10(b).

Respectfully,
Jason D. Grossfield
Assistant City Solicitor
City of Somerville
93 Highland Avenue
Somerville, MA 02143
Phone: (617) 625-6600, ext. 4408
Fax: (617) 776-8847
E-Mail: jgrossfield@somervillema.gov<mailto:jgrossfield@somervillema.gov>
This message and any attached documents contain information which may be confidential, subject to privilege or exempt from disclosure under applicable law. However, when responding, please be aware that the Massachusetts Secretary of State has determined that most email is public record and therefore cannot be kept confidential. These materials are intended only for the use of the intended recipient. If you are not the intended recipient of this transmission, you are hereby notified that any distribution, disclosure, printing, copying, storage, modification or the taking of any action in reliance upon this transmission is strictly prohibited. Delivery of this message to any person other than the intended recipient shall not compromise or waive such confidentiality, privilege or exemption from disclosure as to this communication. If you have received this communication in error, please immediately notify the sender and delete the message from your system. Thank you.