[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the Town of Lewisboro 1-26-1993 by L.L. No.
1-1993. Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 1-26-1993 by L.L. No. 1-1993]
Article 57-A, § 57.19, of the Arts and Cultural Affairs
Law provides that, in towns, the Town Clerk shall serve as the Records
Management Officer.
There shall be a records management program established and
administered by the Records Management Officer (RMO). The Records
Management Officer will be responsible for administering the inactive
and archival records and storage areas for the Town of Lewisboro in
accordance with local, state and federal laws and guidelines.
The Officer shall have those powers necessary to carry out the
efficient administration of the records management program, the powers
to include, but not be limited to, the determination of value, use,
preservation, storage and disposition of the inactive and archival
records kept, filed or received by the offices and departments of
the Town of Lewisboro.
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 creation, maintenance,
storage and service of Town records, including but not limited to
the following:
(1)
Disposition of obsolete and unnecessary records according to New
York State Records Retention and Disposition Schedule;
(2)
Permanent retention of those records which contain administrative,
legal or fiscal value and are deemed to be archival and require permanent
retention; or
(3)
Transfer to the Town Historian those records which are of such research,
historical or educational value as to warrant their permanent retention.
B.
The Records Management Officer shall establish guidelines for proper
records management in any department or agency of the Town of Lewisboro
in accordance with local, state and federal laws and guidelines.
C.
The Records Management Officer shall review all Town of Lewisboro
department requests for purchase and/or installation of records creation,
management or storage equipment and/or systems, including databased
and computerized, to ensure conformity with the records management
plan.
D.
The Records Management Officer shall report annually to the Town
Board on the functioning of the records management plan and the cost/benefit
ratio of programs effectuated by the plan.
E.
The Records Management Officer shall operate inactive records storage
centers for the storage, processing and servicing of all inactive
records for all Town of Lewisboro departments and agencies.
F.
The Records Management Officer shall establish a Town of Lewisboro
archives and perform the following functions:
(1)
Advise and assist Lewisboro departments in reviewing and selecting
material to be transferred to the Lewisboro archives for preservation.
(2)
Establish and maintain an adequate repository for the proper storage,
conservation, processing and servicing of archival records.
(3)
Promulgate rules and regulations governing public access to and use
of records in the archives, subject to the approval of the Records
Advisory Board and Town Board.
(4)
Develop a confidentiality policy for archival records designated
confidential, provided that such policy does not conflict with any
federal or state statutes.
(5)
Provide information services to other Town of Lewisboro government
offices.
(6)
Collect archival materials which are not official Town of Lewisboro
records but which have associational value to the Town of Lewisboro
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.
(7)
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 Deputy Town Clerk, the Town Historian and a Town
Board member. The Town Board member shall be selected annually by
the Records Management Officer. The Board shall meet periodically
and have the following duties:
A.
The Records Advisory Board shall provide advice to the Records Management
Officer on the development of the Records Management Program.
B.
The Records Advisory Board shall review the performance of the program
on an ongoing basis and propose changes and improvements.
C.
The Records Advisory Board shall review retention periods proposed
by the Records Management Officer for records not covered by State
Archives schedules.
D.
The Records Advisory Board shall provide advice on the appraisal
of records for archival value.
A.
A Town of Lewisboro department is the legal custodian of its records
and shall retain legal custody of records deposited in an inactive
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.
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.
Records may be permanently transferred 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 Records Management Officer and Town Attorney 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 Town of Lewisboro 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
and the Town Board of the Town Board of the Town of Lewisboro.
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
Those official records which have been determined by the
Officer and Advisory Board to have sufficient historical or other
value to warrant their continued preservation by the local government.
An establishment maintained by the Town of Lewisboro 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 active office space.
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 of Lewisboro business.
Removal by the Town of Lewisboro, 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, donation or
recycling.
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.
The transfer of records from one Town of Lewisboro agency to
any other Town of Lewisboro agency.
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.
Making information in records available to any Town of Lewisboro
agency for official use or to the public.
