[Adopted 2-26-1990 (Ch. 74, Art. II of the 1971 Code)]
[Amended 1-7-2008]
There shall be a records management program
established under the aegis of the City Clerk or his/her designee
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 City of Middletown 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 City of Middletown. The records management officer shall:
A.
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 such as:
B.
Establish guidelines for proper records management
in any department or agency of the City of Middletown in accordance
with local, state and federal laws and guidelines.
C.
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.
Operate a records management center for the storage,
processing and servicing of all noncurrent and archival records for
all City of Middletown departments and agencies.
E.
Establish a City of Middletown archives and perform
the following functions:
(1)
Advise and assist City of Middletown departments in
reviewing and selecting materials to be transferred to the City of
Middletown 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 City of Middletown
offices.
(7)
Collect archival materials which are not official
City of Middletown records but which have associational value to the
City of Middletown 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.
[Amended 12-18-2012 by L.L. No. 2-2012]
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 Corporation Counsel, the Treasurer,
the Mayor and the City Historian. The 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 City of Middletown department is the legal custodian
of its City of Middletown 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.
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 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 City of Middletown 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.
For the purposes of 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.
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 City of Middletown
business.
An establishment maintained by the City of Middletown 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 City of Middletown, 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 transfer of records from one City of Middletown
agency to any other City of Middletown 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 City of Middletown
agency for official use or to the public.
