[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Trustees of the Village
of New Hartford as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted
where applicable.]
[Adopted 1-7-1993 by L.L.
No. 1-1993]
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 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 New Hartford
business.
An establishment, maintained by the Village of New Hartford,
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 New Hartford, 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 local government agency to
any other local government 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 Village of
New Hartford agency for official use or to the public.
There shall be a records management program established under
the governing body of the Village of New Hartford 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 New Hartford 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 records kept,
filed or received by the offices and departments of the Village of
New Hartford.
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 maintaining, storing and
servicing of archival material:
(1)
Obsolete and unnecessary records according to New York State Records
Retention and Disposition Schedules thereby subject to disposition;
(2)
Information containing administrative, legal, fiscal, research, historical
or educational value which warrants their permanent retention; or
(3)
Records not subject to disposition according to state law.
B.
The Officer shall establish guidelines for proper records management
in any department or agency of the Village of New Hartford in accordance
with local, state and federal laws and guidelines.
C.
The Officer shall 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.
The Officer shall operate a Records Management Center for the storage,
processing and servicing of all noncurrent and archival records for
all Village of New Hartford departments and agencies.
E.
The Officer shall establish a Village of New Hartford Archives and
perform the following functions:
(1)
Advise and assist the Village of New Hartford departments in reviewing
and selecting material to be transferred to the Village of New Hartford
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 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 Village of New Hartford offices.
(7)
Collect archival materials which are not official Village of New
Hartford records but which have associational value to the Village
of New Hartford 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 Board
shall consist of the Mayor, Village Attorney, Treasurer, Historical
Society representative, Records Management Officer, Inventory Clerk,
Assistant Clerk and Village Clerk. The Records Advisory Board shall:
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.
D.
Provide advice on the appraisal of records for archival value, and
be the final sign-off entity as to what is or is not archival.
A.
The Village of New Hartford 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.
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 Village of New Hartford 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.
[Adopted 9-11-1994 by L.L. No. 1-1994]
The Village Clerk is hereby designated as the Village's Records
Access Officer pursuant to Article 6 of the Public Officers Law.
Village records may be requested and examined at the Village
Hall between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 3:30 p.m.
The fees for copies of records shall be $0.25 per photocopy
not larger than nine inches by 14 inches or the actual cost of reproducing
any other records, except when a different fee is otherwise prescribed
by statute.
