Local Government Records Just the Basics

1
Local Government RecordsJust the Basics

• An introduction to records management,
  disposition and preservation for local
  governments in Ohio.
• Pari J. Swift
• Assistant State Archivist
• Ohio Historical Society

2
Local Government Records

• Overview of the Ohio Historical Society and the
  Local Government Records Program
• Pertinent Definitions
• Records Commissions
• Determining Retention Periods
• Records Retention Forms
• Storage Media Decisions

3
Ohio Historical Society

• ORC 149.31
• The Ohio Historical Society, in addition to its
  other functions, shall function as the state
  archives administration for the state and its
  political subdivisions
• Acts as archival repository for state and local
  records of enduring historical value

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Ohio Historical Society

• OHS provides advice and assistance to state
  government and to 5200 local government entities.
• Counties
• Cities Villages
• Townships
• School Districts
• Special Taxing Districts
• Libraries

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Ohio Records Law

• 149.011 ORC (What is a record)
• Stored on a fixed medium
• paper, computer, film, audio/video, etc.
• Created, received or sent under jurisdiction of a
  public office
• Serve to document the organization, functions,
  policies, decisions, procedures, operations, and
  other activities of the office.

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Ohio Records Law

• 149.351 ORC
• All records are the property of the public
  office concerned and shall not be removed,
  destroyed, mutilated, transferred, or otherwise
  damaged or disposed of, in whole or in part,
  except as provided by law or under the rules
  adopted by the records commission

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Records Commissions

• County Records Commission 149.38 ORC
• President of the Board of County Commissioners as
  chairman
• County Prosecuting Attorney
• County Auditor
• County Recorder
• County Clerk of Court of Common Pleas
• Meet at least once every 6 months
• Can hire an archivist
• Shall appoint a secretary who may or may not be a
  member of the commission

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Records Commissions

• Municipal Records Commission 149.39 ORC
• Chief Executive (or appointed representative) as
  chairman
• Chief Fiscal Officer
• Chief Legal Officer
• Citizen (appointed by the chairman)
• Meet at least once every 6 months Can hire an
  archivist
• Shall appoint a secretary who may or may not be a
  member of the commission

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Records Commissions

• Township Records Commission 149.42 ORC
• Chairman of the Board of Township Trustees
• Clerk of the Township
• Meet at least once a year

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Records Commission

• Library Records Commission 149.411 ORC
• Members and Clerk of Board of Trustees
• Meet once every 12 months
• Review Applications for One-Time Disposals (RC-1)
• Review Retention Schedules (RC-3)
• Revise retention schedules at any time
• Provide rules for the retention and disposition
  of records
• The Ohio Historical Society may not review or
  select for custody any records pursuant to ORC
  149.432

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Functions of Records Commissions

• Provide rules for retention and disposal of
  records
• Review retention schedules and disposal requests
• Provide that proper procedures are followed for
  scheduling and disposing of records
• Revise retention schedules as needed
• Notify local historical societies (counties)

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Record Commissions Meetings

• Meetings must be open to the public
• Public must be given notice that the meeting is
  going to occur
• Keep detailed minutes

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Records Officers

• Each department, office, or agency should
  designate a records officer
• responsible for all aspects of records retention
  and disposition within dept.
• serves a liaison to records commission
• should be someone who understands the duties and
  responsibilities of the dept. and the records it
  creates and maintains.

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What is a Record Series?

• Record Series-file units or documents arranged in
  accordance with a filing system or maintained as
  a unit because they result from the same
  accumulation or filing process, the same
  function, or the same activity have a particular
  form
• Annual reports, minutes, burial applications,
  case files, etc.
• NOT payroll records
• divide into payroll journal, payroll warrant,
  cancelled checks, employee earning record,
  withholding information, garnishment orders,
  leave balance reports, W-2, W-4, etc.

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Determining Retention Periods

• Administrative Value
• used by office or agency to carry out its duties
• based on how often or for how long a record is
  used
• would the program be in jeopardy upon the
  disposal of the record?
• Consult Office of Origin

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Determining Retention Periods

• Fiscal Value
• pertains to the receipt, transfer, payment,
  adjustment, or encumbrances of funds
• required for an audit
• Contact Auditor

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Determining Retention Periods

• Legal Value
• documents or protects rights or obligations of
  citizens or of the agency that created it
• retain until legal rights and obligations expire
• Contact Legal Counsel

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Determining Retention Periods

• Historical Value
• documents an agencys organization, policies,
  decisions, procedures, operations, and other
  activities
• contains significant information about people,
  places, or events
• Contact OHS LGRP

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Determining Retention Periods

• Retention Periods are determined and expressed in
  3 ways.
• Time (retain 3 years retain permanently)
• Event or Action (retain until audit report is
  released)
• Time and Event or Action (retain 3 years after
  case closed)
• Retention periods may be subdivided
• retain in office 3 years, then retain storage 6
  more years, then destroy

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Determining Retention Periods

• Determine these values and retain for the
  appropriate time period
• These values are not static.
• Ex. Legal value in particular can change as laws
  change
• Set retention period to the longest value
• Ohio County Records Manual
• These are recommended retention periods, not
  mandated ones
• Base retention schedule on the record series that
  your office creates

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Retention Schedules

• Every ongoing record series that your office
  creates should be listed on a retention schedule.
• A retention schedule is a list of the records an
  office creates with a corresponding retention
  period that states how long the record should be
  retained

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Retention Schedules (RC-2 form)

• Provide the foundation of any records management
  program
• Lists the records that an office maintains and
  the length of time the records should be kept
• When the retention period has expired, the
  records can be disposed of on an ongoing basis
• Signatures indicate review by each involved
  entity
• Local Records Commission (approving body)
• State Auditor (reviewing agency)
• Ohio Historical Society (informational review for
  selection)

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Retention Schedule (RC-2 form)

• Fill out information at the top of the form
• Complete columns
• schedule number
• record title and description (NO DATES!)
• retention period
• media type
• Submit to your records commission
• form must be signed and dated by records
  commission in an open meeting

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RC-2 Helpful Hints

• Sign Forms
• Responsible Official
• Records Commission Chairman
• Email should be scheduled according to content
• Do Not include Dates
• Include address and contact information on top of
  form

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Retention Schedule RC-2

• Form is forwarded to OHS, from OHS to Auditor of
  States Office (60 days each)
• Copy of form returned to you (original on file at
  OHS)
• Retention schedules can be revised at any time
• must go through same process and resubmit form

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Using a Retention Schedule RC-2

• Provides for ongoing disposal
• Prevents build up of unnecessary records
• Can be a legal asset
• proves that public records were destroyed in
  accordance with public records laws

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Obsolete Records

• Your office may have records in storage that are
  not ongoing. Those records are obsolete.
• they are no longer created
• ex. Records regarding an employee childcare
  program your office participated in from
  1980-1990
• These records should be listed on an RC-1,
  Application for One-Time Records Disposal

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Application for One-Time Disposal RC-1

• Used to dispose of obsolete records
• Those no longer created or used
• Same format and information as RC-2
• except include dates for these records
• Must be submitted to Records Commission, OHS and
  Auditor of State
• same process as RC-2

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RC-1 Helpful Hints

• Sign Forms
• Responsible Official
• Records Commission Chairman
• Include address and contact information
• Use inclusive dates after record series title

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Disposing of Records

• After you have submitted and received back copies
  of the RC-1 and/or RC-2, you should determine
  exactly what records you can now dispose of
• These records should be listed on an RC-3,
  Certificate of Records Disposal
• OHS final opportunity to choose records of
  enduring historical value
• provides an administrative/legal record of
  exactly which records were disposed, when they
  were disposed, and that they were disposed
  according to retention schedules

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Certificate RC-3

• Complete the top of the form
• List records to be disposed of
• title (from retention schedule)
• schedule number (from retention schedule)
• RC approval date (from retention schedule)
• media type (from retention schedule)
• other media
• dates
• date of disposal (15 business days in advance)
• Have form signed by the responsible official

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Certificate RC-3

• Submit original form to OHS, keep copy in your
  files, send copy to records commission
• If there are records OHS wants to select for
  archival storage, we will contact you prior to
  the proposed date of disposal (network)
• If there are not records OHS wants to select, you
  will not be contacted or receive a copy of the
  form back
• You may send a self-addressed stamped postcard
  which we will date stamp and send back for
  verification that we received your forms
• OHS forwards the form to the Auditor of States
  Office

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RC-3 Helpful Hints

• Signed by Responsible Official
• Contact phone number
• Records Committee Approval date is that listed on
  RC-1 or RC-2 containing those records. Not the
  date the RC-3 was approved.
• If the records are being transferred to another
  media, list that in appropriate column
• Mail AT LEAST 15 working days prior to scheduled
  destruction

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Transferring Records

• Records can also be transferred to non-network
  repositories such as your local historical
  society or library
• 149.31(A) ORC
• Public records shall be transferred by written
  agreement only, and only to public or
  quasi-public institutions agencies, or
  corporations capable of meeting accepted archival
  standards for housing and use.

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Email Policies

• Circumstances under which e-mail is used
• Circumstances under which e-mail is defined as a
  public record
• 3-pronge test
• Back-up and purge cycles (when you delete it, it
  isnt really deleted immediately)
• Assure that email backups are deleted when all
  retention requirements expire
• Retention requirements and implementation
• Retain according to content
• How to file and retain for access

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E-mail Options

• 1. Dont use e-mail
• 2. No organizational policy/guidelines
• let users manage e-mail however they choose
• 3. Policy stating e-mail will be used only for
  transient communications, nothing official
• 4. Print important records, purge all others
• 5. Purge messages that arent needed create
  simple file structures for some messages print
  messages that are important
• Where to store? Hard drive, e-mail system,
  central filing repository
• security concerns
• 6. Records Management Application (RMA)

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E-mail Options (cont)

• None of these options without problems
• Decide what will work best for your local
  government
• Be sure to do something to deal with e-mails
  meeting the ORC definition of a record
• Guidelines for Managing Electronic Mail
• http//www.ohiojunction.net/erc/email/emailguideli
  nes.html

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Media Decisions

• Three media types you can use to store records
• Paper
• Microfilm/fiche
• Electronic
• Each media type has characteristics that make it
  more or less appropriate for certain kinds of
  records

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Format Characteristics
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Format Characteristics
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Media Decisions-paper

• Is enough storage space available and affordable?
• Requires no equipment to view records
• Only one user per record at any given time

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Media Decisions -- microfilm

• 9.01 ORC
• Microfilm must be certified as to its
  authenticity and completeness
• Must comply with ANSI standards for permanent
  photographic records
• duplicates must be stored in separate buildings
• Must have a microfilm reader so that records on
  film can be made accessible for inspection per a
  public records request

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Media Decisions -- microfilm

• Must have the ability to reproduce paper copies
  per a request for copies of public records
• Properly certified microfilm is acceptable under
  the code of evidence in court proceedings

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Media Decisions -- electronic

• Hardware and software dependency
• Non-proprietary formats (.txt, .tiff)
• Migrate periodically-Check for loss of
  information
• Set retention periods according to content of
  records, not the type of media it is retained on
• Great for access and manipulation (functionality)
• Inscribed on impermanent media
• Must be created reliably and maintained
  authentically (TIS Handbook)
• Is it what it says it is? Is it still what it
  says it is?
• Much more documentation involved
• System documentation, metadata, security, audit
  trails, recovery plans

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Scheduling E-Records

• The total retention period for an electronic
  record series depends on how long the data needs
  to remain in computer processable format.

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Scheduling E-Records

• Different formats of same record may have
  different retention periods
• If electronic records no longer need to be
  maintained in manipulatable state, there is no
  justification for retaining them in a digital
  format. Schedule them for less time than the
  paper or microfilm version
• Ex. Deeds
• Retain paper copy until microfilmed
• Retain microfilm permanently
• Retain digital image 10 years

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Scheduling E-Records

• Generally easier less expensive to maintain
  some digital records in paper or microfilm than
  to migrate
• Some digital records will have to be retained in
  electronic format for the duration of their
  retention period for functionality reasons
• Databases
• Spreadsheets
• Web-sites

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Scheduling E-Records

• Gartner Group recommends
• Any record stored longer than 10 years should be
  stored in an analog, human-readable form such
  as paper or microfilm
• inexpensive formats
• stable media
• avoid compatibility problems with new technologies

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Electronic Records

• Ohio Electronic Records Committee (ERC)
• Guidelines for Managing Electronic Mail
• Revised Digital Imaging Guidelines
• Trustworthy Information Systems Handbook
• Guidelines for Managing Web Content
• Databases as Public Records Guidelines
• http//www.ohiojunction.net/erc

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LGRP Contact Information

• Pari J. Swift
• Assistant State Archivist
• [phone]
• [phone] (fax)
• pswift_at_ohiohistory.org
• www.ohiohistory.org/lgr
• www.ohiojunction.net/erc