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, to show the legal responsibilities of
government and to protect the legal rights of citizens. It will contain information
on taxation and on the management and expenditure of funds. These records
will also document the historical development of government itself, the community
and the people of the town.
As used in this chapter, 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
the continued preservation by the town.
RECORDS
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 town business.
RECORDS CENTER
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.
RECORDS DISPOSITION
The removal by the Town of New Hartford, 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
town agency to another town agency.
RECORDS MANAGEMENT
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.
SERVICING
Making information in records available to any agency for official
use or to the public.
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 town.
A. 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
and the Office of Court Administration 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
warrants 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.
B. The records management officer shall establish guidelines
for proper records management in any department of the town government in
accordance with local, state and federal laws and guidelines.
C. 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.
D. The records management officer shall operate a central
records management storage facility for storage, processing and servicing
of all town records for all town departments and agencies.
E. Additional requirements 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
Archive Records Retention and Disposition Schedules and the Office of Court
Administration 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 RMO must secure approval of such retention periods from
the New York State Commissioner of Education and gain adoption from the Town
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 town 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
town 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 Town
Board on the records management program progress, cost savings and cost avoidance
problems and additional issues.
No records shall be destroyed or otherwise disposed of by a department
of the town until it has met the time limit on the New York State Records
Retention and Disposition Schedule, or the Office of Court Administration
Records Retention and Disposition Schedule if applicable, 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 RMO will allow the Town Historian to
review and/or remove any single document or sampling of documents that are
of historic value to the community.
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. (Replevin: 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.)
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 Town of New Hartford offices.
B. Within five business days of the receipt of the written
request, one of the following will occur:
(1) The record will be made available to the person requesting
it.
(2) The request will be denied in writing.
(3) A written acknowledgment of the receipt of the request
and a statement of the approximate date when such request shall be granted
or denied will be forwarded.
C. Any person denied access to a record may appeal, within
30 days, in writing, such denial to the Town Board.
D. The Town Board is hereby designated as the appeal agency
for determination of denials and will proceed as follows:
(1) The Town Board shall, within 10 business days of the
receipt of an appeal, fully explain, in writing, to the person requesting
the record the reason for further denial, or the Town Board shall provide
access to the record sought.
(2) The Town 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 ensuing determination thereon.
A set fee will be charged per photocopy of a record. Such charges will
be established by resolution of the Town Board.