[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the
Town of Cortlandt 7-11-1989 as L.L. No. 7-1989. Amendments noted where
applicable.]
As used in this chapter, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
Those official records which have been determined by the
Officer and Advisory Committee to have sufficient historical or other
value to warrant their continued preservation by the local government.
Any documents, books, papers, photographs, sound recordings,
microforms 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 town business.
An establishment maintained by the Town of Cortlandt solely
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 removal by the Town of Cortlandt, 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:
The disposal of temporary records by destruction
or donation.
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.
The transfer of records from one Town of Cortlandt
agency to any other Town of Cortlandt agency.
The planning, controlling, directing, organizing, training,
promotion and other managerial use of records disposition, including
records preservation, records disposal and records centers or other
storage facilities.
Making information in records available to any Town of Cortlandt
agency for official use or to the public.
There shall be a records management program
established under the aegis of the Town Board of the Town of Cortlandt
and headed by a Records Management Officer (RMO). The Officer will
be responsible for administering the noncurrent and archival public
records and storage areas for the Town of Cortlandt in accordance
with local, state and federal laws and guidelines, and the RMO may
appoint a Records Coordinator to assist in determining the storage
needs of the various departments in the town and other criteria needed
in order to implement this program.
The 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 offices and departments
of the Town of Cortlandt.
A.
The Records Management Officer shall 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. Records to be examined
include:
(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 warrants its permanent
retention; or
(3)
Records not subject to disposition according to state
law.
B.
The Officer shall establish guidelines for proper
records management in any department or agency of the Town of Cortlandt
in accordance with local, state and federal laws and guidelines.
C.
The Officer shall 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.
The Officer shall operate a Records Management Center
for the storage, processing and servicing of all noncurrent and archival
records for all Town of Cortlandt departments and agencies.
E.
The Officer shall establish a Town of Cortlandt archives
and perform the following functions:
(1)
Advise and assist the Town of Cortlandt departments
in reviewing and selecting material to be transferred to the Town
of Cortlandt 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 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 town offices.
(7)
Collect archival materials which are not official
town records but which have associational value to the Town of Cortlandt
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 Advisory Board designated
to work closely with and provide advice to the Records Management
Officer. The Board shall consist of the Supervisor, two (2) Councilmen,
the Town Attorney, the Purchasing Director, the Comptroller and the
Town Historian. This Board shall meet periodically and have the following
duties:
A.
To provide advice to the Records Management Officer
on the development of the records management program.
B.
To review the performance of the program on an ongoing
basis and propose changes and improvements.
C.
To review retention periods proposed by the Records
Management Officer for records not covered by state archives' schedules.
D.
To 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.
A.
A Town of Cortlandt department 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, with the approval of the head of the
department which has custody of the records and the approval of the
Records Advisory Board.
C.
Records may be permanently removed from the archives
at the request of the RMO or the head of the department which had
custody of the records immediately prior to the transfer of those
records to the archives, subject to the approval of the Records Advisory
Board.
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 Town of Cortlandt unless approval has been
obtained from the Records Management Officer. No records shall be
destroyed or otherwise disposed of by the Records Management Officer
without express written consent of the department head having authority.
