[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the Town of Cornwall 3-14-1994
by L.L. No. 1-1994. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Public access to records — See Ch. 49.
As used herein, the following term shall have the meanings indicated:
Those official records which have been determined by the Records
Management Officer and Advisory Committee to have sufficient historical or
other value to warrant their continued preservation by the town.
Any documents, books, papers, photographs, sound recordings, microforms
or any other materials, regardless of physical form or characteristics, made
or received pursuant to law or ordinance or in connection with the transaction
of official town business.
An establishment maintained by the town primarily for the storage,
servicing, security and processing of records which must be preserved for
varying periods of time and need not be retained in office equipment or space.
The planning, controlling, directing, organizing, training, promotion
and other managerial use and records disposition, including records preservation,
records disposal and records centers or other storage facilities.
The Town Clerk of the Town of Cornwall.
Making information in records available to any town agency for official
use or to the public.
The Town of Cornwall.
There shall be a records management program established under the aegis
of the Town of Cornwall and headed by a Records Management Officer. The Records
Management Officer will be responsible for administering the noncurrent and
archival public records and storage areas for the Town of Cornwall in accordance
with local, state and federal laws and guidelines.
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 noncurrent and archival public records kept,
filed or received by the offices and departments of the town.
A.
The Records Management Officer shall continually survey
and examine public records to recommend their classification so as to determine
the most suitable methods to be used for the maintaining, storing and servicing
of archival material:
(1)
Obsolete and unnecessary records according to New York
Records Retention and Disposition Schedules thereby subject to disposition;
(2)
Information containing administrative, legal, fiscal,
research historical or educational value which warrant 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 or agency of the town in accordance
with local, state and federal laws and guidelines.
C.
The Records Management Officer shall report annually
to the Town Board on the powers and duties herein mentioned, including but
not limited to the cost/benefit ratio of programs effectuated by the department.
D.
The Records Management Officer shall operate a Records
Management Center for the storage, processing and servicing of all noncurrent
and archival records for all town departments and agencies.
E.
The records management officer shall establish town archives
and perform the following functions:
(1)
Advise and assist town departments in reviewing and selecting
material to be transferred to the town archives for preservation.
(2)
Continually survey and examine public records to determine
the most suitable methods to be used for the creating, maintaining, storing
and servicing of archival materials.
(3)
Establish and maintain an adequate repository for the
proper storage, conservation, processing and servicing of archival records.
(4)
Promulgate rules governing public access to and use of
records in the archives, subject to the approval of the Records Advisory Board.
(5)
Develop a confidentiality policy for archival records
designated confidential, provided that such policy does not conflict with
any federal or state statutes.
(6)
Provide information services to other town offices.
(7)
Collect archival materials which are not official town
records but which have associational value to the town or a close relationship
to the existing archival collection. Such collecting shall be subject to archive
space, staff and cost limitations and to the potential endangerment of such
materials if they are not collected by the archives.
(8)
Develop a procedure whereby historically important records
are to be identified at the point of generation.
There shall be a Records Advisory Board designated to work closely with
and provide advice to the Records Management Officer. The Records Advisory
Board shall consist of three members who shall be appointed by the Town Board
and may include a member of the Town Board. The Records Advisory Board shall
meet periodically and have the following duties:
A.
Provide advice to the Records Management Officer on the
development of the records management program.
B.
Review the performance of the program on an ongoing basis
and propose changes and improvements.
C.
Review retention periods proposed by the Records Management
Officer for records not covered by state archives' schedules.
D.
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.
A.
A town department is the legal custodian of its records
and shall retain custody of records deposited in the records enter. Records
transferred to or acquired by the archives shall be under the custody and
control of the archives rather than the department which created or held them
immediately prior to being transferred to the archives.
B.
Records shall be transferred to the archives upon the
recommendation of the Records Management Officer, with the approval of the
head of the department which has custody of the records and the approval of
Records Advisory Board.
C.
Records may be permanently removed from the archives
at the request of the Records Management Officer or the head of the department
which has custody of the records immediately prior to the transfer of those
records to the archives, subject to the approval of the Records Advisory
Board.
The town may take steps to recover town records which have been removed
from proper custody and may, when necessary, institute actions of replevin.
No records shall be destroyed or otherwise disposed of by a department
of the town 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.
