[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:
ADVISORY COMMITTEE
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.
ARCHIVES
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]
RECORDS
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.
RECORDS CENTER
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.
RECORDS DISPOSITION
A. 
The removal by the City of Hudson, 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.
(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.
B. 
The transfer of records from one City agency to any other City 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.
RECORDS MANAGEMENT OFFICER (RMO)
The City Clerk.
SERVICING
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.