There shall be a records management program established under
the aegis of the Town Clerk of Marion, the Records Management Officer
(RMO). The officer will be responsible for administering the noncurrent
and archival public records and storage areas for the Town 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 noncurrent and archival public records,
filed or received by the offices and departments of the Town.
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:
(1) Obsolete and unnecessary records according to New York State Records
Retention and Disposition Schedules thereby subject to disposition;
or
(2) Information containing administrative, legal, fiscal, research, historical
or educational value which warrant their permanent retention; or
(3) Records not subject to disposition according to state law.
B. Establish guidelines for proper records management in any department
or agency of the Town 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. 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 archives and perform the following
functions:
(1) Advise and assist the Town departments in reviewing and selecting
material to be transferred to the Town 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, providing such policy does not conflict with any federal
or state statues.
(6) Provide information services to other Town offices.
(7) Collect archival materials which are not official Town records but
which have associational value to the Town 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 Town Historian, Chief Fiscal Officer, Deputy
Town Clerk. 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 Office
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.
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 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 article, 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 business.
RECORDS CENTER
An establishment maintained by the Town 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, 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;
or
(2)
The transfer of records to the record center/archives for temporary
storage of inactive records and permanent storage of records determined
to have historical or other sufficient value warranting continued
preservation; and
B.
The transfer of records from one Town agency to any other Town
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.