[Adopted 4-3-1996 by L.L. No. 2-1996 (Ch. 88, Art. II, of the 1973 Code)]
As used in this article, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
The Records Management Committee, comprised of the Legal
Advisor, City Historian, President of the Common Council, Mayor and
Executive Director of the Hudson Community Development and Planning
Agency.
Those official records which have been determined by the
Records Management Officer and Advisory Committee to have sufficient
historical or other value to warrant their continued preservation
by the local government.
[Amended 4-20-2004 by L.L. No. 3-2004]
Any documents, books, papers, photographs, sound records,
microforms or any other materials, regardless of physical form or
characteristics, made or received pursuant to law or in connection
with the transaction of official City of Hudson business.
An establishment maintained by the City of Hudson 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.
The City Clerk.
Making information in records available to any City of Hudson
agency for official use or to the public.
There shall be a Records Management Program
established under the aegis of the Common Council and headed by a
Records Management Officer (RMO). The RMO will be responsible for
administering the noncurrent and archival public records and storage
areas for the City of Hudson, in accordance with local, state and
federal laws and guidelines.
The RMO shall have all the necessary powers
to carry out the efficient administration and 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 City of Hudson. The RMO shall:
A.
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, classifying as follows:
(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 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 City of Hudson, 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.
Operate a records management center for the storage,
processing and servicing of all noncurrent and archival records for
all City of Hudson departments and agencies.
E.
Establish a City of Hudson archives and perform the
following functions:
(1)
Advise and assist City of Hudson departments in reviewing
and selecting material to be transferred to the City of Hudson 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 Advisory
Committee.
(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 City of Hudson
offices.
(7)
Collect archival materials which are not official
City of Hudson records but which have associational value to the City
of Hudson 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 Management Committee
designated to work closely with and provide advice to the RMO. The
Committee shall consist of the Common Council President, Mayor, Legal
Advisor, City Historian and the Director of the Hudson Community Development
and Planning Agency. The Committee shall meet periodically and have
the following duties:
A.
Provide advice to the RMO 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 state archives' schedules.
D.
Provide advice on the appraisal of records for archival
value and be the final sign-off entity as to what is or is not archival.
A.
The Common Council 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, in consultation with the head of the
department which has custody of the records and the approval of the
Advisory Committee.
C.
Records may be permanently removed from the archives
at the request of the RMO, subject to the approval of the Advisory
Committee.
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 City of Hudson 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.
