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Home My WebLink About2021-06-01 Select Board Packet 2 - Emails The Commonwealth of Massachusetts Office of the Attorney General One Ashburton Place Boston, Massachusetts 02108 OPEN MEETING LAW COMPLAINT FORM Instructions for completing the Open Meeting Law Complaint Form The Attorney General's Division of Open Government interprets and enforces the Open Meeting Law, Chapter 30A of the Massachusetts General Laws, Sections 18-25. Below is the procedure for filing and responding to an Open Meeting Law complaint. Instructions for filing a complaint: o Fill out the attached two-page form completely and sign it. File the complaint with the public body within 30 days of the alleged violation. If the violation was not reasonably discoverable at the time it occurred, you must file the complaint within 30 days of the date the violation was reasonably discoverable. A violation that occurs during an open session of a meeting is reasonably discoverable on the date of the meeting. o To file the complaint: o For a local or municipal public body, you must submit a copy of the complaint to the chair of the public body AND to the municipal clerk. o For all other public bodies, you must submit a copy of the complaint to the chair of the public body. o Complaints may be filed by mail, email, or by hand. Please retain a copy for your records. o If the public body does not respond within 14 business days and does not request an extension to respond, contact the Division for further assistance. Instructions for a public body that receives a complaint: o The chair must disseminate the complaint to the members of the public body. o The public body must meet to review the complaint within 14 business days (usually 20-22 calendar days). o After review, but within 14 business days, the public body must respond to the complaint in writing and must send the complainant a response and a description of any action the public body has taken to address it. At the same time, the body must send the Attorney General a copy of the response. The public body may delegate this responsibility to its counsel or a staff member, but only after it has met to review the complaint. o If a public body requires more time to review the complaint and respond, it may request an extension of time for good cause by contacting the Division of Open Government. Once the public body has responded to the complaint: o If you are not satisfied with that the public body's response to your complaint, you may file a copy of the complaint with the Division by mail, e-mail, or by hand, but only once you have waited for 30 days after filing the complaint with the public body. o When you file your complaint with the Division, please include the complaint form and all documentation relevant to the alleged violation. You may wish to attach a cover letter explaining why the public body's response does not adequately address your complaint. o The Division will not review complaints filed with us more than 90 days after the violation, unless we granted an extension to the public body or you can demonstrate good cause for the delay. If you have questions concerning the Open Meeting Law complaint process, we encourage you to contact the Division of Open Government by phone at (617) 963-2540 or by e-mail at openmeeting@state.ma.us. Page 1 Your Contact Information: First Name: Walter Last Name: Tuvell Address: 836 Main St. City: Reading State: MA Zip Code: 01867 Phone Number: +1 (781) 475-7254 Ext. (none) Email: walt.tuvell@gmail.com Organization or Media Affiliation (if any): (none/self, but see my website: https://ReadingMA.us) Are you filing the complaint in your capacity as an individual, representative of an organization, or media? (For statistical purposes only) Individual Organization Media Public Body that is the subject of this complaint: City/Town County Regional/District State Name of Public Body (including city/ town, county or region, if applicable): Reading Select Board (SB) Specific person(s), if any, you allege committed the violation: (none, but see the detailed complaint below) Date of alleged violation: ~ May 24, 2021 OPEN MEETING LAW COMPLAINT FORM Office of the Attorney General One Ashburton Place Boston, MA 02108 Please note that all fields are required unless otherwise noted. Page 2 First: Address each and every claim/issue of this complaint (not only the OML-specific ones), in detail, publicly. Second: Come up with a coherent, published policy for how to deal with all the issues/claims, going forward. Third: The root cause of the issue (impersonation of me) was due to terribly insecure ("brain-dead") technology (unauthenticated webform/email) implemented on the Town's website(s); that should/must be DISABLED IMMEDIATELY, and then REPLACED BY SOMETHING MORE SECURE. Description of alleged violation: Describe the alleged violation that this complaint is about. If you believe the alleged violation was intentional, please say so and include the reasons supporting your belief. Note: This text field has a maximum of 3000 characters. The subject of this OML Complaint is the Select Board packet document dated May 4 2021 dealing with emails (three documents were published comprising the "SB packet(s)" for that date, this Complaint only deals with one of them). The document in question exists in two versions: Version1 = https://www. readingma.gov/sites/g/files/vyhlif1116/f/agendas/2021-05-04_emails-correspondence_packet.pdf; Version2 = http://webdocs.readingma.gov/weblink/0/doc/510050/Page1.aspx. Apart from their format, their content should be identical. But they differ in one respect: p. 33 in Version1 (a letter written by an unknown author, falsely impersonating me) is omitted in Version2. That (two different versions, without notice) clearly violates govt/SB policy. I claim it also violates the Public Records Law (PRL), but that's not relevant for this OML complaint. I claim it also violates the OML, to the extent that the SB (in quorum) somehow made the decision (affecting the public) to modify the original Version1, but that decision was made in secret (not in an "open meeting," not in "executive session," and not even announced afterwards). Of further concern is that this decision might (conjecturally) have been made upon the advice and/or knowledge of one or more lawyers (Town Counsel, and/or a lawyer member of the SB). If so, then the decision was made knowingly ("intentional violation," specific intent to violate, per OML). (Not to mention that lawyers' discipline might thus also be implicated.) Finally, I had previously (before Version1 was published) requested (properly or improperly, I know not) that it be omitted from the packet, but I was denied. So somehow, the decision to omit was made differentially (ignoring my desire, but heeding somebody else's). It is clearly improper to treat members of the public (or govt) differently in matters such as this (though I don't know if/how the OML deals with that). What action do you want the public body to take in response to your complaint? Note: This text field has a maximum of 500 characters. Review, sign, and submit your complaint I. Disclosure of Your Complaint. Public Record. Under most circumstances, your complaint, and any documents submitted with your complaint, is considered a public record and will be available to any member of the public upon request. Publication to Website. As part of the Open Data Initiative, the AGO will publish to its website certain information regarding your complaint, including your name and the name of the public body. The AGO will not publish your contact information. II. Consulting With a Private Attorney. The AGO cannot give you legal advice and is not able to be your private attorney, but represents the public interest. If you have any questions concerning your individual legal rights or responsibilities you should contact a private attorney. III. Submit Your Complaint to the Public Body. The complaint must be filed first with the public body. If you have any questions, please contact the Division of Open Government by calling (617) 963-2540 or by email to openmeeting@state.ma.us. By signing below, I acknowledge that I have read and understood the provisions above and certify that the information I have provided is true and correct to the best of my knowledge. Signed: Date: For Use By Public Body Date Received by Public Body: For Use By AGO Date Received by AGO: