[Adopted 5-19-2005 by L.L. No. 4-2005]
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 is intended
to document the 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 development of government itself, the community and the people
of the Town.
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the meanings
indicated:
ARCHIVES
Those official records which have been determined by the RMO and
Town Board to have sufficient historical or other value to warrant the continued
preservation by the Town.
RECORDS
Official files, minutes and documents, books, papers, photographs,
sound recordings, microforms or any other materials, regardless of physical
form of characteristics, made or received pursuant to law or in conjunction
with the transaction of official Town business.
RECORDS CENTER
A central storage area maintained by the RMO for the storage, servicing,
security and processing of records which must be preserved for varying periods
of time.
RECORDS DISPOSITION
The removal by the Town of Ghent, in accordance with approved records
control schedules, of the 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 by
destruction or donation or the transfer of records to a central storage facility
for records determined to have historical or other sufficient value warranting
continued preservation or the transfer of records from one Town agency to
another Town agency.
RECORDS MANAGEMENT
The planning, controlling, directing, organizing, training, promotion
and other managerial activities involved in 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, to the extent that same is authorized pursuant to the
provisions of Article VI of the Public Officers Law.
The RMO shall have all the necessary powers to carry out the efficient
administration and determination of value, use, preservation, storage and
disposition of the public records kept, filed or received by the officers
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 method to be used for maintaining, storing and servicing
them under the following guidelines:
(1) Disposition. Records deemed obsolete and unnecessary
according to the New York State Records Retention and Disposition Schedule
are subject to disposition.
(2) Archival retention. Records containing information with
administrative, legal, fiscal, research, historical or educational value which
warrants their permanent retention are subject to archival retention.
(3) Active retention. Records not yet subject to disposition
according to state law are subject to active retention.
B. The Records Management Officer shall establish guidelines
for proper records management in any department of the Town government in
accordance with local, state and federal laws and guidelines.
C. The Records Management Officer shall report annually
to the governing body 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 Town records for all Town departments and agencies.
E. Additional requirements of the Records Management Officer
include but are not limited to:
(1) Development of a comprehensive records management program.
(2) Conduct of an initial survey and analysis of all records,
to be followed up annually with a report of records stored.
(3) Encouragement and coordination of the continuous legal
destruction of obsolete records through the adoption and use of the State
Archive Records Retention and Disposition Schedules.
(4) Development of suitable retention periods for records
not covered by the New York State Records Retention and Disposition Schedules.
(Subsequently, the RMO must secure approval of such retention periods from
the New York State Commissioner of Education and gain adoption from the Town
Board of any proposed change before the retention period takes effect.)
(5) Assistance to each department for the establishment of
a records management system to support the overall Town records management
program and encouragement of the continued efficient management of records
within respective departments.
(6) Setting up and overseeing a center for the storage of
inactive records.
(7) Maintenance of archival materials which are not official
Town records but which have historical value to the community or close relationship
to the existing archival collection. This 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) Coordination of and carrying out or participating in
the planning for development of advanced records management systems and equipment.
(9) Preparation of special and annual reports for the Town
Board on the records management program progress, cost savings and cost avoidance
problems and additional issues.
The Town Board shall act as a Records Advisory Board to work closely
with and provide advice to the Records Management Officer. The Town Board
shall from time to time provide advice to the Records Management Officer on
the development of the Records Management Program and shall also review the
performance of the program on an ongoing basis and propose such changes and
improvements as the Town Board shall deem necessary or desirable in connection
with this matter.
No records shall be destroyed or otherwise disposed of by a department
of the Town until it has met the time limit on the New York State Records
Retention and Disposition Schedule or unless approved of by 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. Following required consents and prior to actual destruction,
the RMO will allow the Town Historian to review and/or remove any single document
or sampling of documents that are of historic value to the community.
The Town may take steps to recover local government records which have
been alienated from proper custody and may, when necessary, institute actions
of replevin. (Replevin: the recovery by a person of goods claimed to be his,
on his promise to test the matter in court and give the goods up again if
defeated.)
Public access to records shall be provided in accordance with Article VI of the Public Officers Law, commonly known as the Freedom of Information Law. The provisions of Chapter
50 of the Code for the Town of Ghent shall apply in connection with any request for public records.
A. All requests for information shall be in writing, reasonably
describing the record requested and made during regular business hours of
the Town Clerk's Office.
B. Within five business days of the receipt of the written
request, one of the following will occur:
(1) The record will be made available to the person requesting
it.
(2) The request will be denied in writing.
(3) A written acknowledgment of the receipt of the request
and a statement of the approximate date when such request shall be granted
or denied will be forwarded.
C. Any person denied access to a record may appeal within
30 days, in writing, such denial to the Town Board.
D. The Town Board is hereby designated as the appeal agency
for determination of denials and will proceed as follows:
(1) The Town Board shall, within 10 business days of the
receipt of an appeal, fully explain, in writing, to the person requesting
the record, the reason for further denial or the Town Board shall provide
access to the record sought.
(2) The Town Board shall forward to the Committee on Open
Government, a copy of such appeal when received by the agency and shall also
forward to said Committee the ensuing determination thereon.
A set fee will be charged per photocopy of a record. Such charges will
be established by resolution of the Town Board.