[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Trustees of the Village of Ellenville 3-3-1977
by L.L. No. 1-1997. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Records — See Ch. 174.
There shall be a Records Management Program established under the aegis
of the Mayor 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 Village of Ellenville (the "village") in accordance
with local, state and federal laws and guidelines. The RMO shall be the Village
Clerk.
The RMO 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 village.
A.
The RMO 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 materials:
(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 RMO shall establish guidelines for proper records
management in any department or agency of the village in accordance with local,
state and federal laws and guidelines.
C.
The RMO 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 village departments and agencies.
E.
The RMO shall establish a Village Archives and perform
the following functions:
(1)
Advise and assist the village departments in reviewing
and selecting material to be transferred to the Village 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, provided that such policy does not conflict with
any federal or state statutes.
(6)
Provide information services to other village offices.
(7)
Collect archival materials which are not official village
records but which have associational value to the village 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 four members who shall be designated by the Village Board. 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 RMO for records
not covered by the 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.
A.
A village department is the legal custodian of its records
and shall retain custody of records deposited in the Records Center. Records
transferred to or acquired by the Archives shall be under the custody and
control of the Archives rather than the department which created or held them
immediately prior to being transferred to the Archives.
B.
Records shall be transferred to the Archives upon the
recommendation of the RMO, with the approval of the head of the department
which has custody of the records and the approval of the Records Advisory
Board.
C.
Records may be permanently removed 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.
The Village Attorney 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 village unless approval has been obtained from the RMO. No records
shall be destroyed or otherwise disposed of by the RMO without the express
written consent of the department head having authority.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings
indicated:
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 village.
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 village business.
An establishment maintained by the village 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.
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.
Making information in records available to any village agency for
official use or to the public.
