[Adopted 12-12-1988 by L.L.
No. 8-1988]
There shall be a records management program established under the aegis
of the City of Batavia and headed by a records management officer (RMO). The
officer will be responsible for administering the non-current and archival
public records and storage areas for the City of Batavia in accordance with
local, state and federal laws and guidelines.
The officer shall have all the necessary powers to carry out the efficient
administration, determination of value, use, preservation, storage and disposition
of the non-current and archival public records kept, filed or received by
the offices and departments of the City of Batavia.
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:
(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 education value which warrant their permanent retention;
or
(3) Records not subject to disposition according to state
law.
B. Establish guidelines for proper records management in
any department or agency of the City of Batavia in accordance with local,
state and federal laws and guidelines.
C. 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 non-current and archival
records for all City of Batavia departments and agencies.
E. The officer shall establish a City of Batavia Archives
and perform the following functions:
(1) Advise and assist City of Batavia departments in reviewing
and selecting material to be transferred to the City of Batavia 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 or 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.
(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 Batavia
offices.
(7) Collect archival materials which are not official City
of Batavia records but which have associational value to the City of Batavia
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.
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 City of Batavia 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 the express written consent of the
department head having authority.
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the meanings
indicated:
ARCHIVES
Those official records which have been determined by the Officer
to have sufficient historical or other value to warrant their continued preservation
by the local government.
RECORDS
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 City of Batavia business.
RECORDS CENTER
An establishment maintained by the City of Batavia 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 office equipment or
space.
RECORDS DISPOSITION
A.
The removal by the City of Batavia, 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:
(1)
The disposal of temporary records by destruction or donation; or
(2)
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;
and
B.
The transfer of records from one City of Batavia agency to any other
City of Batavia agency.
RECORDS MANAGEMENT
The planning, controlling, directing, organizing, training, promotion
and other managerial use and records disposition, including records preservation,
records disposal and records centers or other storage facilities.
SERVICING
Making information in records available to any City of Batavia agency
for official use or to the public.
[Adopted at time of adoption of Code (See Ch. 1, General Provisions,
Art. I)]
Records shall be available for public inspection and copying at the
office of the City Clerk-Treasurer, 10 West Main Street, Batavia, New York
14020.
Requests for public access to records shall be accepted and records
produced during all hours the City Clerk-Treasurer's office is regularly open
for business.
A notice containing the title or name and business address of the records
access officers and appeals person or body and the location where records
can be seen or copied shall be posted in a conspicuous location wherever records
are kept and/or published in a local newspaper of general circulation.