Village of Elm Grove, WI Records

The chief administrative officer of a department or operational unit within the Village and shall include without limitation the Village Clerk, the Police Chief and the Fire Chief. A deputy legal custodian ordinarily has direct control and custody of records pertaining to his/her respective area of responsibility and expertise.

LEGAL CUSTODIAN

The Village Manager.

RECORD

Any material on which written, drawn, printed, spoken, visual or electromagnetic information is recorded or preserved, regardless of physical form or characteristics, which has been created or is being kept by a department or operational unit within the Village. "Record" includes, but is not limited to, handwritten, typed or printed pages, maps, charts, photographs, films, recordings, tapes (including computer tapes), computer printouts and optical disks. "Record" does not include drafts, notes, preliminary computations and like materials prepared for an originator's personal use or prepared by an originator in the name of a person for whom the originator is working; materials which are purely the personal property of the custodian and have no relation to the position held by a person; materials to which access is limited by copyright, patent or bequest; and published materials in the possession of a department or operational unit within the Village which are available for sale or which are available for inspection at a public library.

[Amended 12-11-2000]

§ 65-2 Legal custodians.

The Village Manager or, in his/her absence, disability or in case of vacancy, the appropriate deputy legal custodian acting in place of the Village Manager under circumstances described in Subsection E(4) hereafter is hereby designated the legal custodian of Village records.

Unless otherwise prohibited or restricted by law, the Village Manager shall act as legal custodian for the Village Board and for any committees, commissions, boards or other authorities created by ordinance or resolution of the Village Board.

The legal custodian, or the deputy legal custodian substituting for the legal custodian in accordance with Subsection E(4) hereafter, shall have full legal power to render decisions and to carry out the duties of an authority under §§ 19.31 to 19.39, Wis. Stats., and this article.

The designation of a legal custodian does not withdraw, lessen or diminish the powers and duties of any administrative officer of a department or operational unit within the Village, except that the final authority to withhold access to any public records from any member of the public must be exercised by the legal custodian, except as provided in Subsection E(4) below.

The chief administrative officer of every Village department or operational unit, including, but without limitation, the Village Clerk, the Police Chief and the Fire Chief, is hereby designated to be a deputy legal custodian who shall make determinations with respect to requests for access to records as follows:

(1)

Each deputy legal custodian may, without prior consent of the legal custodian, permit access to public records within his/her control, custody and expertise provided he/she determines that such records can be accessed by the public.

(2)

Each deputy legal custodian who determines that access to a particular public record should not be granted shall make a recommendation to the legal custodian communicating the demonstrative reasons for the need to restrict access. Thereafter, it shall be the responsibility of the legal custodian to accept or reject such advice. Upon making a final determination, the legal custodian shall communicate his/her determination to the requester in accordance with § 19.35(4), Wis. Stats.

(3)

In making the final determination, the legal custodian may inspect the records being sought and shall receive all assistance and advice as may be required from any Village employee or agent in the process of formulating a determination as to a request for access to records.

(4)

In the event that the Village Manager is unavailable as provided in Subsection A above, the deputy legal custodian shall perform the duties of the legal custodian as required by this article, except that no internal recommendation to another party is required as provided in Subsection E(2) since in such cases the deputy legal custodian makes the determination as to access.

§ 65-3 Procedure for accessing records.

Records will be available for inspection and copying during all Village Hall business hours (9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.).

The legal custodian may, in his/her discretion, require supervision during inspection or may impose other reasonable restrictions on the manner of access to records.

A requester shall be charged a fee to defray the cost of copying records as follows:

(1)

The cost of copying shall be as follows:

(a)

Public records: $0.25 per page.

[Amended 12-18-2007]

(b)

Photographs: actual full cost, plus cost of delivery and pickup if commercially reproduced.

[Amended 12-11-2000]

(2)

If the form of a record does not permit copying, the actual and necessary cost of photographing and photographic processing shall be charged.

(3)

The actual full cost of providing a copy of other records not in printed form on paper, such us films, computer printouts and audio or video tapes, shall be charged.

(4)

If mailing or shipping is necessary, the actual cost thereof shall also be charged.

(5)

There shall be no charge for locating requested records unless the actual cost therefor exceeds $50, in which case the cost shall be estimated by the legal custodian and collected in advance from the requester. The legal custodian shall have discretion to construe to a series, scheme or pattern of requests for records made in the form of individual requests as if only one request for records had been made for purposes of calculating the locating costs. Multiple requests for records may be treated as a singular request, provided the legal custodian can reasonably demonstrate a substantial degree of similarity among the requests with respect to subject matter, timing of the requests, continuity of the requests, source of the request and focus of the requests.

(6)

The legal custodian shall estimate the cost of all applicable fees and may require a cash deposit adequate to assure payment, if such estimate exceeds $5. No charges will be assessed for any request under $3.

[Amended 12-18-2007]

There shall be posted in the lobby of the Village Hall a notice which shall list:

(1)

The name of the legal custodian.

(2)

The names of the deputy legal custodians and general description of records under their control.

(3)

A listing of inspection hours.

(4)

A fee schedule for copies of records.

§ 65-4 Requests for records.

A request to inspect or copy a record shall be made to the legal custodian or deputy legal custodian. A request for a record without a reasonable limitation as to subject matter or length of time represented by the record does not constitute a sufficient request. A requester may be required to show acceptable identification whenever security reasons or federal law or regulations so require.

The legal custodian, upon request for any record, shall, as soon as practicable, either fill the request or notify the requester of the determination by the legal custodian to deny the request in whole or in part and the reasons therefor. If the legal custodian determines that a written request is so general as to be unduly time-consuming, the party making the request may first be required to itemize his or her request in a manner which would permit reasonable compliance.

A request for a record may be denied as provided in § 65-5. Every written denial of a request shall inform the requester that if the request for the record was made in writing, then the determination is subject to review upon petition for a writ of mandamus under § 19.37(1), Wis. Stats., or upon application to the Attorney General or the District Attorney.

§ 65-5 Limitations on right to access.

As provided by § 19.36, Wis. Stats., the following records are exempt from inspection under this section:

(1)

Records specifically exempted from disclosure by state or federal law or authorized to be exempted from disclosure by state law;

(2)

Any record relating to investigative information obtained for law enforcement purposes if federal law or regulations require exemption from disclosure or if exemption from disclosure is a condition to receipt of aids by the State of Wisconsin;

(3)

Computer programs, although the material used as input for a computer program or the material produced as a product of the computer program is subject to inspection; and

(4)

A record or any portion of a record containing information qualifying as a common law trade secret.

(5)

Access to or copies of plans and/or construction documents of any Village-owned or-leased structure, including fixtures and structures relating to municipal water, storm surface water, sanitary sewer facilities, public utilities, including gas pipelines, petroleum lines, transformer box substations, communication fixtures and facilities, and all buildings over 40,000 square feet are not subject to open record in order to protect public safety.

[Added 12-18-2007]

As provided by § 43.30, Wis. Stats., Village public library circulation records are exempt from inspection under this section.

In responding to a request for inspection or copying of a record which is not specifically exempt from disclosure, the legal custodian, after consultation with the deputy legal custodian as provided in § 65-2E(2) above and with the Village Attorney, may deny the request, in whole or in part, only if he or she determines that the harm to the public interest resulting from disclosure would outweigh the public interest in full access to the requested record. Examples of matters for which disclosure may be refused include, but are not limited to, the following:

(1)

Records obtained under official pledges of confidentiality which were necessary and given in order to obtain the information contained in them.

(2)

Records of current deliberations after a quasi-judicial hearing.

(3)

Records of current deliberations concerning employment, dismissal, promotion, demotion, compensation, performance or discipline of any Village officer or employee or the investigation of charges against a Village officer or employee.

(4)

Records concerning current strategy for crime detection or prevention.

(5)

Records of current deliberations or negotiations on the purchase of Village property, investing of Village funds or other Village business whenever competitive or bargaining reasons require nondisclosure.

(6)

Financial, medical, social or personal histories or disciplinary data of specific persons which, if disclosed, would be likely to have a substantial adverse effect upon the reputation of any person referred to in such history or data.

(7)

Communications between legal counsel for the Village and any officer, agent or employee of the Village when advice is being rendered concerning strategy with respect to current litigation in which the Village or any of its officers, agents or employees is, or is likely to become, involved or communications which are privileged under § 905.03, Wis. Stats.

If a record contains information that may be made public and information that may not be made public, the custodian of the record shall provide the information that may be made public and delete the information that may not be made public from the record for release. If in the judgment of the custodian there is no feasible way to separate the exempt material from the nonexempt material without unreasonably jeopardizing nondisclosure of the exempt material, the entire record shall be withheld from disclosure.

§ 65-6 Records retention.

Unless otherwise provided by law, the provisions of Article II of this chapter shall control maintenance and the destruction of public records.

Article II Retention and Destruction

[Adopted 2-12-1996]

§ 65-7 Purpose.

The purpose of this article is to establish a Village records retention schedule and authorize destruction of Village records pursuant to the schedule on an annual basis. Records custodians do not have the authority to destroy records prior to the established retention period unless such records have been photographically reproduced as original records pursuant to § 16.61(7), Wis. Stats., and under this article.

§ 65-8 Historical records.

The State Historical Society of Wisconsin (SHSW) has waived the required sixty-day statutory notice under § 19.21(5)(d), Wis. Stats., for the records in § 65-12 of this article marked "W" which designates "waived notice." The SHSW must be notified prior to destruction of records marked "N" designating nonwaiver. "N/A" indicates "not applicable" and applies to all records designated for permanent retention. Notice to the SHSW is also required for any other record not specifically listed in this article.

§ 65-9 Microfilming or optical disk storage.

Village records may be kept and preserved on microfilm or optical disk provided the applicable standards established in § 16.61(7), Wis. Stats., are met. Factors such as retention periods and estimated costs and benefits of converting records between different medias should be considered in deciding whether or not to preserve on microfilm or optical disk. The retention periods identified in this article apply to records in any media.

§ 65-10 Destruction after request for inspection.

Where a request for inspection of public records has been made under Wisconsin's Public Records Law (§§ 19.31 to 19.37, Wis. Stats.), no requested record may be destroyed until after the request is granted or for 60 days after the request is denied. If an action is commenced under § 19.37, Wis. Stats., the requested record may not be destroyed until a court order is issued and all appeals have been completed.

§ 65-11 Destruction during litigation.

No record known to be the subject of litigation shall be destroyed until the litigation has been resolved.

§ 65-12 Retention schedule.

[Amended 12-18-2007]

The following records shall be maintained for the periods indicated.

[Amended 4-22-2008; 2-22-2016;9-27-2021]

	Legend:
	"CR" means time is counted from creation or receipt of the record.
	"EVT" means an event such as closing of a contract, termination of an employee, filing a lawsuit or writing a ticket. Time is counted from the date of this significant event.
	"FIS" means current fiscal year and the additional amount of time indicated.
	"W" means the notice requirement has been waived.

Record			Retention Period	Notice Requirement
General Government Records
	Village Board records
		Minute book	Permanent	N/A
		Ordinances	Permanent	N/A
		Resolutions	Permanent	N/A
		Ordinance book	Permanent	N/A
		Affidavits of publication or posting (ordinances)	Permanent	N/A
		Affidavits of publication or posting (other)	EVT + 3 years	W
		Video recordings of meetings	Calendar year + 90 days	N/A
	License and Permit Records
		License applications (liquor and beer)	EVT + 4 years	W
		License applications (all other)	EVT + 3 years	W
		Receipts	EVT + 7 years	W
		License stubs (liquor and beer)	EVT + 4 years	W
		License stubs (other)	EVT + 3 years	W
		Monthly report of dog licenses to County Clerk	EVT + 3 years	W
	Election Records
		Contents of a blank ballot box, unused ballots and materials	EVT + 3 business days after the canvas is completed	W
		Voter serial number slips	EVT + 3 business days after the canvas is completed	W
		Voting machine recorders	EVT + 14 days after a primary (21 days after an election)1	W
		Detachable recording units on electronic voting equipment	EVT + 14 days after a primary (21 days after an election)2	W
		Ballots (state, county, local)	EVT + 30 days after the election	W
		Ballots (federal offices)3	EVT + 22 months after election	W
		Applications for absentee ballots (for federal election ballots)	EVT + 90 days after the election (22 months after the election for federal offices)	W
		Forms associated with election such as tally sheets, inspector's statements and nomination papers	EVT + 90 days after the election (22 months after the election for federal offices)	W
		Official canvas statements	EVT + 10 years after the election	W
		Registration and poll lists, nonpartisan primaries and elections	EVT + 2 years after the election for which they were created	W
		Registration and poll lists, partisan primaries and general elections	EVT + 4 years after the election for which they were created	W
		Canceled registration cards	EVT + 4 years (after cancellation)	W
		Election notices	EVT + 1 year after the election (22 months for federal election)	W
		Proofs of publication and posting and correspondence relative to publications and posting	EVT + 1 year after the election (22 months for federal election)	W
		Campaign registration statements	EVT + 6 years after termination by the registrant	W
		Campaign finance reports	EVT + 6 years after date of receipt	W
	Finance Records
		Receipt journal	FIS + 15 years	W
		General journal	FIS + 15 years	W
		Journal voucher	FIS + 15 years	W
		Appropriation journal	FIS + 15 years	W
		Appropriation journal voucher	FIS + 15 years	W
		General ledger	FIS + 15 years	N
		Trial balances	Until audited	W
		Cash book	EVT + 15 years	W
		Daily cash drawer reconciliations	EVT + 1 year
		Duplicate deposit tickets	EVT + audit + 1 year	W
		Bank credit/debit notices	EVT + audit + 1 year	W
		Bank reconciliations	FIS + 7 years	W
		Bank statements	FIS + 7 years	W
		Investment records	FIS + 7 years	W
		Check register	FIS + 7 years	W
	Payroll Records
		Payroll support records	EVT + audit + 2 years	W
		Employee's withholding allowance certificate	EVT + 5 years after being superseded	W
		Employee's Wisconsin withholding exemption certificate	EVT + 5 years after being superseded	W
		Employee enrollment and waiver cards for insurance plans and other elective programs	Termination/ superseded + 2 years	W
		Employee earning records	EVT + 5 years	W
		Payroll check register	Annual audit + 5 years or 7 years if no audit	W
		Payroll distribution record	Annual audit + 5 years or 7 years if no audit	W
		Payroll voucher	EVT + 5 years (if audited) (7 years if no audit)	W
		Canceled payroll checks	EVT + 5 years (if audited) (7 years if no audit)	W
		Wage and tax statement	EVT + 5 years (if audited) (7 years if no audit)	W
		Report of Wisconsin income tax withheld	EVT + 5 years (if audited) (7 years if no audit)	W
		Employer's annual reconciliation of Wisconsin income tax withheld from wages	EVT + 5 years (if audited) (7 years if no audit)	W
		Federal deposit tax stubs	EVT + 5 years (if audited) (7 years if no audit)	W
		Quarterly report of federal income tax withheld	EVT + 5 years (if audited) (7 years if no audit)	W
		Annual report of federal income tax withheld	EVT + 5 years (if audited) (7 years if no audit)	W
		State's quarterly report of wages paid	EVT + 5 years (if audited) (7 years if no audit)	W
		Monthly memorandum report	EVT + 5 years (if audited) (7 years if no audit)	W
		Quarterly report, payroll summary	EVT + 5 years (if audited) (7 years if no audit)	W
		Premium-due notices	EVT + 5 years (if audited) (7 years if no audit)	W
		Change in employee status	EVT + 5 years	W
		All receipts of current billings	FIS + 2	W
	Purchasing Records
		Purchase requisitions	EVT + 1 year	W
		Bids, unsuccessful	EVT + 1 year after purchase order issued	W
		Bids, successful	Contract termination + 7 years	W
		Inventory of property	Until superseded	W
	Budget and Audit Records
		Budget worksheets	FIS + 3 years	W
		Final budget	Permanent	N/A
		Audit reports	Permanent	N/A
	Property Assessment Records
		Master property record folders	Life of structure + 5 years	N
		Index to owners	Until superseded	W
		Building permit applications	Transfer to master property record + 1 year	W
		Plats	Permanent	N/A
		Certified survey maps	Permanent	N/A
		Assessor's plats	Permanent	N/A
		Aerial photographs	Until superseded	W
		Tax exemption reports	EVT + 10 years	W
		Notice of increased assessment (no appeal)	EVT + 5 years	W
		Notice of increased assessment (appealed)	Completion of appeal process + 7 years	W
		Assessor's final report supplement	EVT + 5 years	W
		Assessor's final report	EVT + 5 years	W
		Statement of assessment	Life of assessment roll	W
		Final statement of assessment	Permanent	N
		Final real property assessment roll	EVT + 15 years	W
		Occupational tax returns	EVT + 5 years	W
		Merchants' professions' statement of property	EVT + 5 years	W
		Personal property worksheets/ farmers and personal property not used for the production of income	EVT + 5 years	W
		Report of inventory location	EVT + 5 years	W
		Assessor's personal property summary worksheet	EVT + 5 years	W
		Assessor's final report	EVT + 5 years	W
		Final personal property assessment roll	EVT + 15 years	N
	Board of Review Records
		Objection to property assessment and supporting documentation	Final action by Board or completion of appeal + 7 years	W
		Minute book	EVT + 7 years	N
		Proceedings of Board of Review on audio tape or stenographic notes including transcriptions	Final action/ completion of appeal + 7 years	W
		Notice of determinations	EVT + 7 years	W
	Special Assessment Records
		Preliminary resolution	CR + 2 years	W
		Special assessments final resolution	Permanent	N/A
		Certified special assessment roll	Until fully collected or 7 years, whichever is longer	W
		Waiver of special assessment notice and hearing	Final resolution + 1 year	W
		Statement of new special assessments	EVT + 5 years	W
		Special assessment payment register	EVT + time for collection of all assessments	W
	Public Works Contract Records
		Notice to contractors (successful bidders)	EVT + 7 years	W
		Notice to contractors (unsuccessful bidders)	EVT + 2 years	W
		Bid bond (successful bidders)	Project completion + 7 years	W
		Bid bond (unsuccessful bidders)	EVT + 2 years	W
		Bidder's proof of financial responsibility (successful bidders)	Project completion + 7 years	W
		Bidder's proof of financial responsibility (unsuccessful bidders)	EVT + 2 years	W
		Bids (successful bidders)	Contract life + 7 years	W
		Bids (unsuccessful bidders)	EVT + 2 years	W
		Master project files	20 years	N
		Blueprints	Until superseded	W
		As-built tracings	Life of project	N
	Street and Highway Records
		Street operations file	EVT + 2 years	W
		Street and sidewalk maintenance and repair records	EVT + 25 years	W
		Stock control records	Audit + 2 years	W
		Fuel usage reports	EVT + 2 years	W
		Heavy equipment and vehicle inventory ledger	Life of equipment and/or vehicle or until inventory ledger is superseded	W
		Vehicle maintenance history	Life of vehicle	W
		Vehicle expense reports	Life of vehicle	W
		Vehicle usage reports	Audit + 2 years	W
	Building Permit and Inspection Records
		Applications and permits	Permanent	N/A
		Code compliance inspection reports	Permanent	N/A
		Inspection address file	Permanent	N/A
		Certificates of occupancy	Until superseded	W
		State-approved commercial building plans	EVT + 4 years	N
		Permit fee receipts	EVT + 7 years	W
		Permit ledger	EVT + 7 years	W
		Village Attorney's case file, copies	Case closure + 1 year	W
		Quarter section maps, copies	Until superseded	W
		Records of Board of Appeals and Plan Commission	Permanent	N/A
	Contracts, leases, agreements, notices of taking bids		EVT + 7	W
	Insurance contracts		Permanent	N/A
Police Department Records
	Radio recordings		CR + 120 days	W
	Video of patrol activities		CR + 120 days	W
	Security video		CR + 7 days	W
	Security photos		CR + 1 year	W
	Overnight parking permissions		CR + 120 days	W
	Personnel files		EVT + 8 years	W
	Incidents and complaints		CR + 10 years	W
	Arrest records, including support documents		EVT + 8 years	W
	Traffic and parking ordinance violation citations (police files only)		EVT + 1 year (after case closed)	W
	Municipal ordinance violation citations (non-traffic) (police files only)		EVT + 2 years (after case closed)	W
	Traffic accident reports		EVT + 4 years	W
	Juvenile violation reports		EVT + 7 years	W
	Municipal Court dockets		EVT + 180 days (final decision)	W
	Fine and fee collection records		CR + 3 years	W
	E-mails		CR + 60 days	W
	Correspondence		CR + 7 years	W
	Bicycle licenses		EVT + 3 years	W
	Administrative reports and statistics		CR + 7 years	W
	Property inventory reports		EVT + 8 years	W
	Calls for service logs		CR + 3 years	W
	Vacant property check requests		CR + 2 years	W
	Vehicle maintenance records		Life of vehicle	W
	Radio logbooks		CR + 3 years	W
	Informational teletype messages		CR + 30 days	W
	Personnel records		EVT + 8 years	W
	Citizen complaints against police officers		EVT + 8 years	W
Municipal Court Records
	Municipal Court case files		EVT + 6 years after entry of final judgment	W
	Audio tapes of trials and juvenile matters		Term of appeal period	W
	Village Attorney file copies		Term of appeal period + 6 months	W
	Municipal Court money docket		EVT + 20 years	W
	Municipal Court minutes records		EVT + 5 years after entry of final judgment	W

	¹The Governor may by order permit the clearing of voting machine recorders before this date if a special election is called.
	²Before units can be cleared or erased, the information must be transferred to a disk or other recording medium and retained for 22 months.
	³Federal offices are President of the United States, United States Senator and Congress.

General retention period for records. Any record not specifically regulated by this article or any other regulation or law shall be retained for seven years unless a shorter retention period has been approved by the State Public Records and Forms Board.

Audio recordings of meetings. Notwithstanding any provision in this article to the contrary, pursuant to § 19.21(7), Wis. Stats., any tape recording of any meeting may be destroyed no sooner than 90 days after the minutes have been approved (and published or posted where required by the Wisconsin statutes) if the purpose of the recording was to make minutes of the meeting.

[Amended 4-22-2008]

§ 65-13 Approval.

This article has been reviewed and approved by the Public Records and Forms Board of the State of Wisconsin on November 15, 1995.