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.
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 LGS-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.
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.
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 DISPOSITION
The removal by the City, 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:
A.
The disposal of temporary records by destruction or donation;
or
B.
The transfer of records to the inactive records storage area
for temporary storage of inactive records and permanent storage of
records determined to have historical or other sufficient value warranting
continued preservation; or
C.
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 activities involved in records maintenance,
use and disposition, including records preservation, disposal, records
centers or other storage facilities.
SERVICING
Making information in records available to any City department
for official use or to the public.