§ 24-6. Powers and duties of records management officer.

The records management officer shall have all the necessary powers to carry out the efficient administration, determination of value, use, preservation, storage and disposition of the public records kept, filed or received by the officers and departments of the town.

A. 

The records management officer shall continually survey and examine public records to recommend their classification so as to determine the most suitable method to be used for maintaining, storing and servicing them under the following guidelines:

(1) 

Disposition. Records deemed obsolete and unnecessary according to the New York State Retention and Disposition Schedule are subject to disposition.

(2) 

Archival retention. Information containing administrative, legal, fiscal, research, historical or educational value which warrants their permanent retention.

(3) 

Active retention. Records not yet subject to disposition according to state law.

B. 

The records management officer shall establish guidelines for proper records management in any department of the town government in accordance with local, state and federal laws and guidelines.

C. 

The records management officer shall report annually to the Town Board on the powers and duties herein mentioned, including, but not limited to, the development and progress of programs to date and planned activities for subsequent years.

D. 

The records management officer shall operate a central records management storage facility for storage, processing and servicing all town records for all town departments and agencies.

E. 

Additional requirements of the records management officer include, but are not limited to:

(1) 

The development of a comprehensive records management program.

(2) 

The conduct of an initial survey and analysis of all records, to be followed up annually with a report of records stored.

(3) 

The encouragement and coordination of the continuous legal destruction of obsolete records through the adoption and use of the State Archives Records Retention and Disposition Schedule.

(4) 

The development of suitable retention periods for records not covered by the State Records Retention and Disposition Schedules. (Subsequently, the records management officer must secure approval of such retention periods from the New York State Commissioner of Education and gain adoption by the Town Board of any proposed change before the retention period takes effect.)

(5) 

The assistance to each department for the establishment of a records management system to support the overall town records management program and the encouragement of the continued efficient management of records within respective departments.

(6) 

The setting up and overseeing of a center for the storage area.

(7) 

The maintenance of archival materials which are not official town records but which have historical value to the community or close relationship to the existing archival collection. This shall be subject to archive space, staff and cost limitation and to the potential endangerment of such materials if they are not collected by the archives.

(8) 

The coordinating and carrying out or participating in the planning for development of advanced records management systems and equipment.

(9) 

The preparation of special and annual reports for the Town Board on records management program progress, cost savings and cost avoidance problems and additional issues.