[Adopted 4-24-1989 as L.L.
No. 5-1989]
As used in this Article, the following terms shall have the meanings
indicated:
ARCHIVES
Those official records which have been determined by the officer
and the Advisory Committee 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 in connection with the transaction of official
village business.
RECORDS CENTER
An establishment maintained by the village 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 village, 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 village department to any other village
department.
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 village department
for official use or to the public.
There shall be a Records Management Program established under the aegis
of the Village Clerk and headed by the Village Clerk or his designee, who
shall serve as records management officer (RMO). The officer will be responsible
for administering the noncurrent and archival public records and storage areas
for the Village of Spring Valley 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 noncurrent and archival public records kept, filed or received by the
offices and departments of the Village of Spring Valley.
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 educational value which warrant their permanent retention.
(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 Village of Spring Valley 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 Village of Spring Valley departments and agencies.
E. The officer shall establish a village archives and perform
the following functions:
(1) Advise and assist village departments in reviewing and
selecting material to be transferred to the village 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 village offices.
(7) Collect archival materials which are not official village
records but which have associational value to the village 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 composed of the Mayor, the records
management officer, the Treasurer, the Attorney, the grants coordinator and
the village historian. The Board shall meet periodically and have the following
duties. The Board shall:
A. Provide advice to the 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 proposed by the records management
officer for records not covered by the state archives' schedules.
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 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 village 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.
[Adopted at time of adoption of Code]
Records shall be available for public inspection and copying at the
office of the Village Clerk, Senator Gene Levy Municipal Plaza, Spring Valley,
New York.
Requests for public access to record shall be accepted and records produced
during all hours that the Clerk's office is regularly open for business.
A notice containing the title or name and business address of the records
access officer and appeals 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.