[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Trustees of the Village
of Bloomfield 7-27-1994; 9-30-1994 by L.L. No. 7-1994 (Ch. 39 of the 2016 Code). Amendments noted where applicable.]
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 and providing administrative continuity with past operations.
The program is intended to document the delivery of services, show
the legal responsibilities of government and protect the legal rights
of citizens. It will prevent the creation of unnecessary records,
make records accessible when needed and legally dispose of obsolete
records. These records will also document the historical development
of government itself, the community and the people of the Village.
A.
There shall be a records management program established under the
aegis of the Village Clerk/Treasurer and headed by the records management
officer. The Village Clerk/Treasurer is designated as the records
management officer (RMO) and will be responsible for administering
the current and archival public records in storage areas for the Village
in accordance with local, state and federal laws and guidelines.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
Those official records which have been determined by the
records management officer and Advisory Board to have sufficient historical
or other value to warrant the continued preservation by the Village.
Official files, minutes and documents, books, papers, photographs,
sound recordings, microforms 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.
A central storage area maintained by the records management
officer for the storage, servicing, security and processing of records
which must be preserved for varying periods of time.
The removal by the Village of Bloomfield, in accordance with
approved records control schedules, of the 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 records with scheduled retention periods 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.
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.
The recovery by a person of goods claimed to be his, on his
promise to test the matter in court and give the goods up again if
defeated.
Making information in records available to any agency for
official use or to the public.
A.
The records
management officer shall have all the necessary powers to carry out
the efficient administration and determination of value, use, preservation,
storage and disposition of the public records kept, filed or received
by the officers and departments of the Village.
B.
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 under the following guidelines:
(1)
Disposition. Records deemed obsolete and unnecessary according to
the New York State Records Retention and Disposition Schedule are
subject to disposition.
(2)
Archival retention. Records containing information with administrative,
legal, fiscal, research, historical or educational value which warranted
their permanent retention are subject to archival retention.
(3)
Active retention. Records not yet subject to disposition according
to state law are subject to active retention.
C.
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.
D.
The records management officer shall report annually to the governing
body 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.
E.
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.
F.
Additional requirement of the records management officer include,
but are not limited to:
(1)
Development of a comprehensive records management program.
(2)
Conduct of an initial survey and analysis of all records, to be followed
up annually with a report of records stored.
(3)
Encouragement and coordination of the continuous legal destruction
of obsolete records through the adoption and use of the State Archives
Records Retention and Disposition Schedules.
(4)
Development of suitable retention periods for records not covered
by the New York State Records Retention and Disposition Schedules.
(Subsequently, the records management officer must secure approval
of such retention periods from the New York State Commissioner of
Education and gain adoption from the Village Board of any proposed
change before the retention period takes effect.)
(5)
Assistance to each department for the establishment of a records
management system to support the overall Village records management
program and encouragement of the continued efficient management of
records within respective departments.
(6)
Setting up and overseeing a center for the storage of inactive records.
(7)
Maintenance of archival materials which are not official Village
records but which have historical value to the community or close
relationship to the existing archival collection. This 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)
Coordination of and carrying out or participating in the planning
for development of advanced records management systems and equipment.
(9)
Preparation of special and annual reports for the Village Board on
the records management program's progress, cost savings and cost avoidance
problems and additional issues.
(10)
Coordinate the development of grant applications to the Local Government
Records Management Improvement Fund and other sources. Attend grant
or educational workshops offered by the State Archives Administration
when available.
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 three members, suggested but not limited to the following
areas: Village Historian, Mayor, Trustees, Village Attorney and a
member of the community. Appointments are to be made by the Board
of Trustees upon recommendation by the Mayor. 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 any changes in 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.
A.
Active records. The originating department has full custody (legal
and physical) over records still in active use.
B.
Inactive records. The originating department is the legal custodian
of its records and shall retain the power to retrieve and use records
disposition in inactive storage in the records center. The records
management officer will have physical custody of inactive records
and will determine the method 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 records management officer, rather than the department
which created or held them immediately prior to being transferred
to the archives.
(1)
Records shall be transferred to the archives upon the recommendation
of the records management officer, with the approval of the head of
the department which had custody of the records and the approval of
the Records Advisory Board.
(2)
Records may be removed (temporarily or permanently) from the archives
at the request of the records management officer 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 Village until it has met the time limit on the New
York State Records Retention and Disposition Schedule or unless approved
of 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 authority.
Following required consents and prior to actual destruction, the records
management officer will allow the Village Historian to review and/or
remove any single document or sampling of documents that are of historic
value to the community.
Upon completion of the annual financial report to the State
Comptroller's Office, the RMO will transfer the fiscal records of
the previous year to the inactive storage facility in the following
manner:
A.
All records not needed for the conduction of daily business of the
Village office will be boxed for transferal.
B.
Two copies of a computer listing of box contents will be generated
on a color-coded form (for temporary storage of five years); one copy
to be filed for office use and one copy to be applied to the outside
of the archives box.
C.
Back up to disk all files on computer so that one set of disks may
be stored in the Village office and one set to be stored in the inactive
records storage facility.
D.
Upon transferal of the inactive records to the storage facility,
the RMO will remove the box of records which has reached its final
retention (six years total) and dispose of the records in the following
manner:
(1)
Retain all vital and archival records according to the MU-1 Schedule,
such that they are filed by subject in the permanent records section
of the inactive storage facility.
(2)
Update the two copies of the color-coded permanent records forms
where appropriate (in office and on box).
(3)
Prepare obsolete records for destruction by recycling general records
and shredding records of a sensitive nature.
(4)
Use temporary storage computer listing as a permanent record of obsolete
records destroyed and present the listing to the Trustees for destruction
approval facilitated by signing off on the listing.
(5)
File the signed list in the book for obsolete records.
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.
To comply with Article 6 of the Public Officers Law, the following
format will be followed:
A.
All requests for information shall be in writing, reasonably describing
the record requested and made during regular business hours of the
Village of Bloomfield offices.
B.
Within five business days of the receipt of the written request,
one of the following will occur:
C.
Any person denied access to a record may appeal, within 30 days,
in writing, such denial to the Village Board.
D.
The Village Board is hereby designated as the appeal agency for determination
of denials and will proceed as follows:
(1)
The Village Board shall, within 10 business days of the receipt of
an appeal, fully explain, in writing, to the person requesting the
records the reason for further denial or the Village Board shall provide
access to the record sought.
(2)
The Village Board shall forward to the Committee on Open Government
a copy of such appeal when received by the agency and shall also forward
to said Committee the enduring determination thereon.
