[HISTORY: Adopted by the Council of the City of Rye 11-20-1996 by
L.L. No. 11-1996. Amendments noted where applicable.]
There shall be a records management program established under the aegis
of the City of Rye Clerk. The City Clerk is designated as the city's Records
Management Officer. The officer will be responsible for administering the
noncurrent and archival public records and storage areas for the city in accordance
with local, state and federal laws and guidelines.
A.
The City Records Management Officer 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 officers and departments
of the City of Rye.
B.
The Records Management Officer shall:
(1)
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. "Archival
material" shall be:
(a)
Obsolete and unnecessary records according to New York
State Archives Records Retention and Disposition Schedules (MU-1) thereby
subject to disposition;
(b)
Information containing administrative, legal, fiscal,
research, historical or educational value which warrant their permanent retention;
or
(c)
Records not subject to disposition according to state
law.
(2)
Establish guidelines for proper records management in
any department or agency of city government in accordance with local, state
and federal laws and guidelines.
(3)
Report annually to the City Council on the powers and
duties herein mentioned, including but not limited to the cost-benefit ratio
of programs effectuated by the program.
(4)
Oversee all requests for records storage equipment, microfilm
equipment, etc., and coordinate and participate in planning for the expansion
of micrographics and automated data processing systems.
(5)
Establish an inactive records storage area for the storage,
processing and servicing of all noncurrent and archival records for all city
departments and agencies.
C.
The Records Management Officer shall perform the following
functions with respect to the city:
(1)
Advise and assist city departments in reviewing and selecting
records to be transferred to the inactive records storage area for storage
and/or 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 City of Rye offices.
(7)
Develop a procedure whereby historically important records
are to be identified at the point of generation.
(8)
Collect archival materials which are not official City
of Rye records but which have associational value to the city 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.
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 representatives appointed by the Mayor or City Manager. (It may consist
of the City Auditor, the City Historian, one or two representatives of the
City Council or others who may be beneficial to the duties of a Records Advisory
Board.) The Board shall meet periodically and have the following powers and
duties:
A.
Provide advice to the City 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 not covered by the SARA Schedule
MU-1 or retention period changes recommended by department heads.
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.
The Records Management Officer shall maintain physical custody and official
responsibility of all records in his/her possession. Department heads shall
retain constructive control and authority over all department records, regardless
of their physical location.
The City 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 city unless a records disposal form has been executed. Records will
not be destroyed if they are required for any pending audit, litigation or
other investigation.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings
indicated:
- 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 city.
- RECORDS
- Any documents, books, papers, photographs, sound recordings, microfilm 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 city business.
- RECORDS MANAGEMENT
- The planning, controlling, directing, organizing, training, promotion and other managerial activities involved in records maintenance, use and disposition, including records preservation, disposal, records centers or other storage facilities.
- INACTIVE RECORDS STORAGE AREA
- An establishment maintained by the city 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 active office space and equipment.
- SERVICING
- Making information in records available to any city department for official use or to the public.
