[Adopted 8-19-1992 by L.L. No. 2-1992]
The objectives of the records management program shall be as follows:
A. Facilitate the creation of usable records containing
accurate and complete information.
B. Save tax dollars through efficient administration of
information resources.
C. Prevent the creation of unnecessary records.
D. Make recorded information available and readily accessible
when needed, thereby minimizing time spent searching for files and documents.
E. Ensure the systematic legal disposition of obsolete records.
F. Encourage the lasting survival of records identified
as having sufficient legal, administrative, fiscal or historical value to
warrant their permanent retention as archival records.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings
indicated:
ARCHIVES
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.
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 town business.
RECORDS CENTER
An establishment maintained by the Town of Putnam Valley or cooperatively
by the County of Putnam and participating towns 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 Town of Putnam Valley, 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.
B.
The transfer of records from one town agency to any other town 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 town agency for official
use or to the public.
There shall be a records management program established under the aegis
of the Town Board 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 County of Putnam 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 Town of Putnam 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;
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 Town of Putnam Valley in accordance with local,
state and federal laws and guidelines.
C. Report annually to the Putnam Valley Town Board 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 departments and agencies of the Town of Putnam Valley or shall cooperate
in the establishment and operation of a cooperative records management center
for the county and participating Putnam County towns.
E. The officer shall establish a Putnam Valley archive and
perform the following functions:
(1) Advise and assist Town of Putnam Valley departments in
reviewing and selecting material to be transferred to the Putnam Valley archive
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 offices of the
Town of Putnam Valley.
(7) Collect archival materials which are not official records
of the Town of Putnam Valley but which have associational value to the County
of Putnam 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.
(9) Serve as a member of the Putnam County Records Management
Advisory Board in the establishment and operation of a cooperative records
storage facility for inactive records of the county and participating towns
and villages.
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 and a member of the Town Board, the Town Attorney, the Town
Historian, the Town Finance Director or Comptroller and two members of the
general public who have a demonstrated knowledge of records management, historical
records or Putnam Valley history. The Board shall meet periodically and have
the following duties:
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 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 Town 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 Town of Putnam Valley 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 (see Ch. 1, General Provisions,
Art. I)]
Records shall be available for public inspection and copying at the
office of the Town Clerk, 265 Oscawana Lake Road, Putnam Valley, New York
10579.
Requests for public access to records shall be accepted and records
produced during all hours the Town Clerk's office is regularly open for
business. These hours are 9:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m.
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.