Required Posting About Public Records

Here is something everyone can do to promote open government. Go to your town or city hall and find out if the clerk has posted a brief statement about your right to obtain a public record. The Massachusetts Public Records Law states, “The clerk of every city or town shall post, in a conspicuous place in the city or town hall in the vicinity of the clerk’s office, a brief printed statement that any citizen may, at his discretion, obtain copies of certain public records from local officials for a fee as provided for in this chapter.” M.G.L. c. 66, § 10(d). Let us know if there is no such posting in your town or city hall.