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 would be intended to document 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also document the historical document of government itself, the community
and the people of the Village.
There shall be a records management program
established under the aegis of the Village Clerk and headed by a records
management officer. The Village Clerk is designated as the records
management officer and will be responsible for administering
the current and archived public records in storage areas for the Village
in accordance with local, state and federal laws and guidelines.
As used in this article, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
ARCHIVES
Those official records which have been determined by the
records management officer and Advisory Committee to have sufficient
historical or other value to warrant continued preservation by the
Village.
RECORDS
Official files, minutes and documents, books, papers, photographs,
sound recordings, microforms, electronic transmissions or any other
materials, regardless of physical form or characteristics, made or
received pursuant to law or in conjunction with the transaction of
official Village business.
RECORDS CENTER
An establishment maintained by the records management officer
for the storage, servicing, security and processing of records which
must be preserved for varying periods of time.
RECORDS DISPOSITION
The removal by the Village, 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 disposition of temporary records by destruction or donation, or
the transfer of records to a central storage facility for temporary
or permanent storage of records determined to have historical or other
sufficient value warranting continued preservation, or the transfer
of records from one Village agency to another Village agency.
RECORDS MANAGEMENT
The planning, controlling, directing, organizing, training,
promotion and other managerial activities involved in records creation,
records maintenance and use and 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.
The records management officer shall have all
the necessary powers to carry out the efficient administration, determination
of value, use, preservation, storage and disposition of the public
records kept, filed or received by the officers and departments of
the Village.
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 the maintaining,
storing and servicing of the following:
(1) Obsolete and unnecessary records according to the
New York State 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 records management officer shall establish guidelines
for proper records management in any department of the Village government
in accordance with local, state and federal laws and guidelines.
C. The records management officer shall report annually
to the Board of Trustees 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 Village records for all Village departments and agencies.
E. Additional requirements of the records management
officer include, but are not limited to:
(1) The development of a comprehensive records management
program.
(2) The conduct of an initial survey and analysis of all
records, to be followed up annually with a report of records stored.
(3) The encouragement and coordination of the continuous
legal destruction of obsolete records through the adoption and use
of the state archive record retention and distribution schedules.
(4) The development and a suitable retention period for
records not covered by the State Records Retention and Disposition
Schedules.
(5) The assistance to each department for the establishment
of a records management system to support the overall Village records
management program.
(6) The setting up and overseeing of a center for the
storage of inactive records.
(7) The coordinating and carrying out of or participating
in the planning for development of advanced records management systems
and equipment.
(8) The preparation of special and annual reports for
the Board of Trustees on records management program progress, cost
savings and cost avoidance problems and additional issues.
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 Village Historian, a member
of the Village Board of Trustees selected by the Mayor, the Village
Treasurer and a department head. The Board shall meet periodically
and have the following duties:
A. To provide advice to the records management officer
on the development of the records management program.
B. To review the performance of the program on an ongoing
basis and propose changes and improvements.
C. To review retention periods proposed by the records
management officer for records not covered by the state archive schedules.
D. To 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.
The records management officer shall maintain
physical custody of and the official responsibility for all records.
Department heads shall retain constructive control and authority over
all department records.
No records shall be destroyed or otherwise disposed
of by a department of the Village 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.
The Village Clerk shall be the records access
officer for the Village of Island Park.
Records of the Village shall be made available
for public inspection and copying, to the extent permitted or required
by law, at the Village Hall.
Public records of the Village which are available
for inspection and copying shall be made available, and requests for
access to such records shall be received, during regular business
hours of the Village office.
Appeals from denials of access to records shall
be heard and determined by the Mayor.
Fees for copies shall be as set from time to time by the Board
of Trustees.