State Official Finds Town of Falmouth Violated Public Records Request From Fire Union

The Supervisor of Records in the Secretary of the Commonwealth's office has agreed with Attorney Jillian Ryan that the Town of Falmouth must, per Public Records Law, release drafts of a consultant's report. In Falmouth, the Town commissioned a consultant to advise about consolidation of the Town's various public safety dispatch services. The Town's Attorney, D.M. Moschos, claimed that the drafts were exempt under the public records law, which protects documents part of a deliberative process from disclosure.

The Supervisor of Records soundly rejected Moschos' defenses. The Supervisor said that the deliberative exemption only applies until the policy or process is complete. Because the consultant issued the final report, the deliberative exemption no longer entitled the Town to withhold the information. He ordered the Town to produce the information within 10 days.