[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Trustees
of the Village of Dobbs Ferry 11-6-1990 by L.L. No. 3-1990 (Ch. 77 of the 1984
Code). Amendments noted where applicable.]
There shall be a Records Management Program
established under the aegis of the Board of Trustees of the Village
of Dobbs Ferry and headed by a Records Management Officer (RMO). The
Officer will be responsible for administering the noncurrent and archival
public records and storage areas for the Village of Dobbs Ferry in
accordance with local, state and federal laws and guidelines.
The 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 Village of Dobbs Ferry. The Officer shall:
A.Â
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, as follows:
(1)Â
Obsolete and unnecessary records according to New
York State Records Retention and Disposition Schedules, thereby subject
to disposition.
(2)Â
Information containing administrative, legal, fiscal,
research, historical or educational value which warrant its permanent
retention.
(3)Â
Records not subject to disposition according to state
law.
B.Â
Establish guidelines for proper records management
in any department or agency of the Village of Dobbs Ferry in accordance
with local, state and federal laws and guidelines.
C.Â
Report annually to the chief executive official and
the governing body on the powers and duties herein mentioned, including
but not limited to the cost/benefit ratio of programs effectuated
by the department.
D.Â
Operate a records management center for the storage,
processing and servicing of all noncurrent and archival records for
all Village of Dobbs Ferry departments and agencies.
E.Â
Establish a Village of Dobbs Ferry archives and perform
the following functions:
(1)Â
Advise and assist Village of Dobbs Ferry departments
in reviewing and selecting material to be transferred to the Village
of Dobbs Ferry archives for preservation.
(2)Â
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)Â
Establish and maintain an adequate repository for
the proper storage, conservation, processing and servicing of archival
records.
(4)Â
Promulgate rules governing public access to and use
of records in the archives, subject to the approval of the Records
Advisory Board.
(5)Â
Develop a confidentiality policy for archival records
designated "confidential," provided that such policy does not conflict
with any federal or state statutes.
(6)Â
Provide information services to other Village of Dobbs
Ferry offices.
(7)Â
Collect archival materials which are not official
Village of Dobbs Ferry records but which have associational value
to the Village of Dobbs Ferry 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)Â
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 Board shall consist of the Mayor, Village Administrator,
Village Attorney and Village Historian. The Board shall meet periodically
and have the following duties:
A.Â
To provide advice to the Records Management Officer
on the development of the Records Management Program.
B.Â
To review the performance of the program on an ongoing
basis and propose changes and improvements.
C.Â
To review retention periods proposed by the Records
Management Officer for records not covered by state archives' schedules.
D.Â
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.
A.Â
A Village of Dobbs Ferry department is the legal custodian
of its records and shall retain custody of records deposited in the
records center. 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.Â
Records shall be transferred to the archives upon
the recommendation of the RMO, with the approval of the head of the
department which has custody of the records and the approval of the
Records Advisory Board.
C.Â
Records may be permanently removed from the archives
at the request of the RMO or the head of the department which had
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 Legal Department may take steps to recover
local government records which have been alienated 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 Village of Dobbs Ferry 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.
As used in this chapter, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
Those official records which have been determined by the
Officer and Advisory Committee to have sufficient historical or other
value to warrant their continued preservation by the local government.
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 Village of Dobbs Ferry
business.
An establishment maintained by the Village of Dobbs Ferry
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 removal by the Village of Dobbs Ferry, 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 disposal of temporary records by destruction
or donation;
The transfer of records to the record center
archives for temporary storage of inactive records and permanent storage
of records determined to have historical or other sufficient value
warranting continued preservation; or
The transfer of records from one Village of
Dobbs Ferry agency to any other Village of Dobbs Ferry agency.
The planning, controlling, directing, organization, training,
promotion and other managerial use and records disposition, including
records preservation, records disposal and records centers or other
storage facilities.
Making information in records available to any Village of
Dobbs Ferry agency for official use or to the public.
