There shall be a records management program
established under the aegis of the Town Clerk of the Town of Stanford
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 Town of Stanford 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 Town of Stanford.
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 maintaining,
storing and servicing of archival material as follows:
(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 its permanent
retention; or
(3) Records not subject to disposition according to state
law.
B. The Records Management Officer shall establish guidelines
for proper records management in any department or agency of the Town
of Stanford in accordance with local, state and federal laws and guidelines.
C. The Records Management 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 Town departments and agencies.
E. The Officer shall establish a Town of Stanford archives
and perform the following functions:
(1) Advise and assist Town of Stanford departments in
reviewing and selecting material to be transferred to the Town of
Stanford 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 the
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 Town of Stanford
offices.
(7) Collect archival materials which are not official
Town of Stanford records but which have associational value to the
Town of Stanford 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 Supervisor, Town Clerk, Deputy
Town Clerk, Town Attorney, Bookkeeper or Secretary to the Supervisor,
Town Historian of the Town of Stanford or such other persons who,
from time to time, may be nominated and appointed to the Records Advisory
Board by the Town Board of the Town of Stanford. 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 be the final sign-off entity as to what is or is not archival.
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 Town of Stanford 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:
ARCHIVES
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.
RECORDS
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 Stanford business.
RECORDS CENTER
An establishment maintained by the Town of Stanford 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.
RECORDS DISPOSITION
A.
The removal by the Town of Stanford, 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:
(1)
The disposal of temporary records by destruction
or donation.
(2)
The transfer of records to the record center/
archives for the temporary storage of inactive records and the permanent
storage of records determined to have historical or other sufficient
value warranting continued preservation.
B.
The transfer of records from one Town agency
to any other agency.
RECORDS MANAGEMENT
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.
SERVICING
Making information in records available to any Town agency
for official use or to the public.