Be it enacted by the Board of Supervisors of the County of Ontario, New York
as follows:
Section 1: Legislative Intent:
The Board of Supervisors of the County of Ontario, in its continuing effort to bring
about the most efficient manner of providing services to the residents of this county,
and in order to more accurately reflect and conform with the recently passed state
laws relating to records management programs, the position of records management
officer; the responsibilities of the said records management officer created by the New
York States Arts and Cultural Affairs Law (Section 57.23 and 57.25), the Education Law
(Section 207), and the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education (Title VIII, Section
185.2, Rules and Regulations of the State of New York 1989) , recognizes that these
needs and mandates can be best met through the administration of a separate
department of the county government.
Section 2: Creation of Department:
Pursuant to the provisions of Section 10 of the Municipal Home Rule Law, the Ontario
County Department of Records, Archives and Information Management Services
(RAIMS) is hereby created. Said Department shall be under the supervision of the
Records Management Officer, who shall be appointed by the Ontario County Board of
Supervisors for a term of two (2) years.(Superceded by Civil Service Law; Civil
Service Examination Required). The Records Management Officer shall be responsible
for the management and operation of the Department and shall have the powers and
duties necessary to carry out the functions of the Department as set forth herein and
such other responsibilities as may from time to time be imposed by Resolution of the
Board of Supervisors.
Section 3: Department, Officer:
The Records Management Officer (RMO) will report directly to the Division Manager of
the Government Operations Division, who in turn reports directly to the County
Administrator. The officer will be responsible for administering the non-current and
archival public records and storage areas for the county in accordance with local,
state and federal laws and guidelines. He will have the power to appoint, supervise,
discipline and remove all employees of the said Department, and assign and reassign
powers and duties to such employees, have charge and control of all employees of the
Department in accordance with sound management principles, Board of Supervisors'
policies, civil Service Law and other administrative policies and procedures.
A. Whenever a vacancy shall occur in the position of records management officer,
a replacement shall be designated within sixty days.
B. Within one month of such designation, the Board of Supervisors shall notify the
Commissioner of Education, in writing, of the records management officer's
name, title or position, mailing address and telephone number.
Section 4. Powers and Duties.
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 officers
and departments of the county.
A. The records management officer shall initiate,
coordinate and promote the systematic management of the local government's
records in consultation and cooperation with other local officers. Duties of
the Records Management Officer shall include, but need not be limited to the
following:
1. Recommending and guiding the development and application of records
management practices for local government employees;
2. Coordinating the continuous disposition of obsolete records in
accordance with legal requirements through the adoption and use of
records retention and disposition schedules;
3. Recommending to the State Commissioner of Education suitable
retention periods for any records not covered by records retention
and disposition schedules;
4. Coordinating the storage and management of inactive records, those no
longer needed for the conduct of the day to day business of the local
government;
5. Reviewing and making recommendations on request for records
storage equipment;
6. Participating in the development of, reviewing proposals for, or
coordinating any micrographic or automated data processing systems;
7. Organizing or coordinating a program for the identification,
administration and use of records of enduring value.
B. 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; or
2. Information containing administrative, legal, fiscal, research,
historical or educational value which warrants permanent retention; or
3. Records not subject to disposition according to State Law.
C. Establish guidelines for proper records management in any department or
agency of the county in accordance with local, state and federal laws and
guidelines.
D. 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.
E. The officer shall operate a Records Management Center for the storage,
processing and servicing of all non-current and archival records for all
county departments and agencies.
F. The officer shall establish a county archives and perform the following
functions:
1. Advise and assist county departments in reviewing and selecting
material to be transferred to the county 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, providing such policy does not conflict with any Federal
or State statutes.
6. Provide information services to other county offices.
7. Collect archival materials which are not official county records but
which have associational value to the county 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.
Section 5. Records Advisory Board.
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
County Administrator, County Attorney, County Finance Officer, County Historian,
County Clerk, Director of Data Processing, and Commissioner of Public Works or
their designees. 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.
Section 6. Custody.
A. A county department is the legal custodian of its records and shall retain
custody of records deposited in the Records Center. Records transferred to
or acquired by the Archives shall be under the custody and control
of the Archives rather than the department which created or held them
immediately prior to being transferred to the Archives.
B. Records shall be transferred to the Archives upon the recommendation of the
RMO, with the approval of the head of the department which has custody of
the records and the approval of the Records Advisory Board.
C. Records may be permanently removed from the Archives at the request of the
RMO or the head of the department which had custody of the records
immediately prior to the transfer of those records to the Archives, subject to
the approval of the Records Advisory Board.
Section 7. Replevin.
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.
Section 8. Disposal of Records.
No records shall be destroyed or otherwise disposed of by a department of the county
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.
Section 9. Definitions.
A. "Archives" means those official records which have been determined by the
Officer and Advisory Committee to have sufficient historical value or other
value to warrant their continued preservation by the county.
B. "Records" means any documents, books, papers, photographs, sound recordings, microforms,
or any other material regardless of physical form or characteristics, made or received pursuant to law or
ordinance or in connection with the transaction of official county business.
C. "Records management" means 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.
D. "Records disposition" means:
1. The removal by the county, 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:
a. the disposal of temporary records by
destruction or donation; or
b. 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
2. The transfer of records from one county agency to
any other county agency.
E. "Records center" means an establishment maintained by the county 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.
F. "Servicing" means making information in records available to any county
agency for official use or to the public.
Section 10. This Local Law shall take effect immediately upon adoption.
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