[Adopted 1-9-1989 by L.L.
No. 2-1989 (Ch. 103 of the 1981 Code)]
Records are essential to the administration of local government. They
contain the information that keeps government programs functioning. It is
the intent of this article that a records management program be established
which will assist officials in making decisions, administering programs and
providing administrative continuity with past operations. The program would
be intended to document delivery of services, show the legal responsibilities
of government and protect the legal rights of citizens. It will contain information
on taxation and on the management and expenditure of funds. These records
will also document the historical document of government itself, the community
and the people of the Village.
There shall be a records management program established under the aegis
of the Village Clerk and headed by a records management officer. The Village
Clerk is designated as the records management officer and will be responsible
for administering the current and archived public records in storage areas
for the Village in accordance with local, state and federal laws and guidelines.
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the meanings
indicated:
ARCHIVES
Those official records which have been determined by the officer
and Advisory Committee to have sufficient historical or other value to warrant
the continued preservation by the Village.
RECORDS
Official files, minutes and documents, books, papers, photographs,
sound recordings, microforms, electronic transmissions or any other materials,
regardless of physical form or characteristics, made or received pursuant
to law or in conjunction with the transaction of official Village business.
RECORDS CENTER
An establishment maintained by the records management officer for
the storage, servicing, security and processing of records which must be preserved
for varying periods of time.
RECORDS DISPOSITION
The removal by the Village, in accordance with approved records control
schedules, of records no longer necessary for the conduct of business by such
agency through removal methods, which may include the disposition of temporary
records by destruction or donation, or the transfer of records to a central
storage facility for temporary or permanent storage of records determined
to have historical or other sufficient value warranting continued preservation,
or the transfer of records from one Village agency to another Village agency.
RECORDS MANAGEMENT
The planning, controlling, directing, organizing, training, promotion
and other managerial activities involved in records creation, records maintenance
and use and records disposition, including records preservation, records disposal
and the records center or other storage facilities.
SERVICING
Making information in records available to any agency for official
use or to the public.
The records management officer shall have all the necessary powers to
carry out the efficient administration, determination of value, use, preservation,
storage and disposition of the public records kept, filed or received by the
officers and departments of the Village.
A. The records management officer shall continually survey
and examine public records to recommend their classification so as to determine
the most suitable method to be used for the maintaining, storing and servicing
of the following:
(1) Obsolete and unnecessary records according to the New
York State Retention and Disposition Schedules, thereby subject to disposition;
(2) Information containing administrative, legal, fiscal,
research, historical or educational value which warrants their permanent retention;
or
(3) Records not subject to disposition according to state
law.
B. The records management officer shall establish guidelines
for proper records management in any department of the Village government
in accordance with local, state and federal laws and guidelines.
C. The records management officer shall report annually
to the Board of Trustees on the powers and duties herein mentioned, including
but not limited to the development and progress of programs to date and planned
activities for subsequent years.
D. The records management officer shall operate a central
records management storage facility for storage, processing and servicing
of all Village records for all Village departments and agencies.
E. Additional requirements of the records management officer
include but are not limited to:
(1) The development of a comprehensive records management
program.
(2) The conduct of an initial survey and analysis of all
records, to be followed up annually with a report of records stored.
(3) The encouragement and coordination of the continuous
legal destruction of obsolete records through the adoption and use of the
state archive record retention and distribution schedules.
(4) The development and a suitable retention period for records
not covered by the State Records Retention and Disposition Schedules.
(5) The assistance to each department for the establishment
of a records management system to support the overall Village records management
program.
(6) The setting up and overseeing of a center for the storage
of inactive records.
(7) The coordinating and carrying out or participating in
the planning for development of advanced records management systems and equipment.
(8) The preparation of special and annual reports for the
Board of Trustees on records management program progress, cost savings and
cost avoidance problems and additional issues.
There shall be a Records Advisory Board designated to work closely with
and provide advice to the records management officer. The Board shall consist
of the Village Historian, a member of the Village Board of Trustees selected
by the Mayor, the Village Treasurer and a department head. The Board shall
meet periodically and have the following duties:
A. To provide advice to the records management officer on
the development of the records management program.
B. To review the performance of the program on an ongoing
basis and propose changes and improvements.
C. To review retention periods proposed by the records management
officer for records not covered by the state archive schedules.
D. To provide advice on the appraisal of records for archival
value and to be the final sign-off entity as to what is or is not archival.
The records management officer shall maintain physical custody and the
official responsibility for all records. Department heads shall retain constructive
control and authority over all department records.
No records shall be destroyed or otherwise disposed of by a department
of the Village unless approval has been obtained from the records management
officer. No records shall be destroyed or otherwise disposed of by the records
management officer without the express written consent of the department head
having authority.
[Adopted 12-7-1998 by L.L.
No. 10-1998 (Ch. 25 of the 1981 Code)]
The Village Clerk shall be the records access officer for the Village
of Great Neck Estates.
Records of the Village shall be made available for public inspection
and copying, to the extent permitted or required by law, at the Village Hall.
Public records of the Village which are available for inspection and
copying shall be made available, and requests for access to such records shall
be received, during regular business hours of the Village office.
Appeals from denials of access to records shall be heard and determined
by the Mayor.
The following fees shall be charged:
A. Inspection of records: no fee.
B. Search for records: no fee.
C. Certification of a copy of a document: $3.
D. Photocopies, not exceeding nine inches by 14 inches in
size: $0.25 per page.
E. Copies of other records: actual copying costs, excluding
fixed agency costs such as salaries.