[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the Town of Poestenkill 4-13-1994 by L.L. No.
1-1994 (Ch. 127 of the 1986 Code). Amendments noted
where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Fees — See Ch. 128.
Records are essential to the administration of local government.
They contain the information that keeps government programs functioning.
It is the intent of this chapter that a records management program
be established which will assist officials in making decisions, administering
programs, making information readily available to residents and providing
administrative continuity with past operations. The program is intended
to document the delivery of services, to outline the legal responsibilities
of the Town and its officers, and to protect the interests of its
citizens in current and historical public documents.
A.
There shall be a records management program established, to be headed
by the Town Clerk, who is also designated the Records Management Officer
(RMO) of the Town. The RMO will be responsible for administering and
storing noncurrent and archival public records of the Town in accordance
with local, state and federal laws and regulations, as further detailed
in the following sections of this chapter.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
Those official records which have been determined by the
RMO and the Town's Records Advisory Board to have sufficient historical
or other value to warrant permanent preservation by the Town.
Official files, minutes and documents, books, papers, photographs,
sound recordings, microforms or any other materials, regardless of
physical form or characteristics, made or received in conjunction
with the transaction of official Town business, or as otherwise required
by law.[1]
The removal by the Town of Poestenkill, in accordance with
approved records control schedules, of the records no longer necessary
for the conduct of business by an agency of the Town, through removal
methods which may include the disposition of temporary records by
destruction or donation; the transfer of records to a central storage
facility for records with scheduled retention periods; permanent storage
of records determined to have historical or other sufficient value
warranting continued preservation; or the transfer of records from
one Town agency to another Town agency.
The planning, controlling, directing, organizing, training,
promotion and other managerial activities involved in records creation,
maintenance, use and disposition.
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 effective and efficient administration of Town
records.
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 maintaining, storing and servicing
them.
B.
The Records Management Officer shall establish procedures for proper
records management in all departments of Town government in accordance
with local, state and federal laws and guidelines.
C.
The Records Management Officer shall report annually to the Supervisor
and Town Board on records management activities carried out during
the year, including at least the development and progress of programs
to date and planned activities for subsequent years.
D.
The RMO will prepare annually a records management status report,
to include at least a description of any changes in procedures which
have been made or need to be made; recommendations for new equipment
needed; and a recommendation for the amount of a separately budgeted
line item in the Town budget to cover the total cost of records management
by the Town.
E.
Additional requirements of the Records Management Officer include
but are not limited to:
(1)
Development of suitable retention periods for records not covered
by the New York State Records Retention and Disposition Schedules
to propose for approval by the State Commissioner of Education and
adoption by the Town Board.
(2)
Assistance to each department for the establishment of a records
management system to support the overall Town records management program.
(3)
Maintenance, in cooperation with the Town Historian, of archival
materials which are not official Town records but which have historical
value to the community or a close relationship to the existing archival
collection. This shall be subject to archive space, staff and cost
limitations, and to the potential loss of such materials if they are
not stored by the archives.
(4)
Coordination of the planning for development of improved records
management systems and equipment.
There shall be a Records Advisory Board (RAB) designated to
work with and provide advice to the Records Management Officer and
the Town Board. The RAB shall consist of five members, including,
when possible, the Town Historian, representatives of the Town Board
and the Town Library, and a person who is responsible for records
management in one of the Town departments. Appointments are to be
made by the Town Board for terms of five years, except for the initial
members, whose terms shall be fixed so that one member's term
shall expire at the end of the calendar year in which the appointment
is made and the remaining members' terms set so that one member's
term shall expire at the end of each calendar year thereafter. 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 any changes in retention periods proposed by the RMO for records
not covered by the state archive schedules.
D.
Provide advice on the appraisal of records for archival value and
to decide questions as to what is or is not archival.
A.
Active records. The originating department has full legal and physical
custody over records still in active use.
B.
Inactive records. The originating department remains the legal custodian
of its own records and shall retain the power to retrieve and use
records deposited at other locations in inactive storage. The RMO
will have physical custody of inactive records and will determine
the method, place and design of storage.
C.
Archival records. Records transferred to or acquired by the archives
shall be under the full custody (legal and physical) of the archives,
as directed by the RMO, rather than the department which created or
held them immediately prior to their being transferred to the archives.
(1)
Records shall be transferred to the archives upon the recommendation
of the RMO, with the approval of the head of the department having
prior custody of the records and of the Records Advisory Board.
(2)
Records may be removed temporarily or permanently 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.
No records shall be destroyed or otherwise disposed of by a
department of the Town until it has met the time limit on the New
York State Records Retention and Disposition Schedule and has been
approved for disposal by 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 legal custody over those records. Following required consents
and prior to actual destruction, the RMO will allow the Town Historian
to review and/or remove any documents that are of historic value to
the community.
The following procedure will be followed to enable and ensure
public access to Town records:
A.
An indexed listing of records under Town custody shall be kept in
the office of the Town Clerk and be available for public inspection.
B.
All requests for information shall be in writing to the Town Clerk
or the Town officer having legal custody of the documents containing
the desired information, shall reasonably describe the record requested,
and shall be made during regular business hours of the Town of Poestenkill
offices. A request for information may also be made by e-mail to the
Town Clerk.[1]
C.
Within five business days of the receipt of the written request,
one of the following will occur:
(1)
The
Records Management Officer will inform the person requesting records
that the request or a portion of the request does not reasonably describe
the records sought, including direction, to the extent possible, that
would enable that person to request records reasonably described.[2]
(2)
The record will be made available to the person requesting it.
(3)
The request will be denied in writing.
(4)
A written acknowledgment of the receipt of the request and a statement
of the approximate date when such request shall be granted or denied
will be forwarded, which date shall be reasonable under the circumstances
of the request and shall not be more than 20 business days after the
date of the acknowledgment, or if it is known that circumstances prevent
disclosure within 20 business days from the date of such acknowledgment,
providing a statement in writing indicating the reason for inability
to grant the request within that time and a date certain, within a
reasonable period under the circumstances of the request, when the
request will be granted in whole or in part. If the receipt of request
was acknowledged in writing and included an approximate date when
the request would be granted in whole or in part within 20 business
days of such acknowledgment, but circumstances prevent disclosure
within that time, the Town Clerk shall provide a statement in writing
within 20 business days of such acknowledgment specifying the reason
for the inability to do so and a date certain, within a reasonable
period under the circumstances of the request, when the request will
be granted in whole or in part. In determining a reasonable time for
granting or denying a request under the circumstances of a request,
the Town Clerk shall consider the volume of the request, the ease
or difficulty in locating, retrieving or copying records, the complexity
of the request, the need to review records to determine the extent
to which they must be disclosed, the number of requests received,
and similar factors that bear on the ability to grant access to records
promptly and within a reasonable time.[3]
D.
Any person denied access to a record may appeal such denial to the
Town Board, in writing, within 30 days of the written denial.
E.
The Town Board is hereby designated as the appeal agency for determination
of denials and will proceed as follows:
