Managing Public
Records
Every governmental agency — state or local — is required
by law to manage its public records in an orderly and systematic way. When this
is done, records become a tremendous asset, the evidence of past events and the
basis for future actions. To create a workable records management program, you
must take four basic steps:
Until you know what records and other documents you have
within your agency, you cannot establish a realistic records management program.
So the first step is to inventory the materials in your office, including those
documents on computers and in storage. Your goals are to:
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Discover what records and other documents you have.
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Create a list of where records are located and stored.
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Determine whether information is duplicated in
different types of records.
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Estimate the costs and effects of existing records
management techniques.
Make sure the person who conducts your inventory is capable
of distinguishing what is and is not a public record. "Public
record" is defined by state law (2-6-202 and 2-6-401 MCA). For a detailed
list of documents that are not considered public records, consult General
Records Retention Schedule 9. If you still have trouble determining whether
a particular document is a public record, contact the Records
Management Division of the Secretary of State's Office, (406) 444-9000.
Generally, when conducting an inventory, it is best to
start at one end of each office and go through each piece of filing equipment
one at a time. As you inventory, you should keep track of what you find using Records
Series Profile Form RM-1.
Once you have inventoried your records, you can determine
how long you need to keep them (retention period) and what to do with them once
they are no longer useful (disposition). To help with e-mail determinations, reference the Montana E-Mail Guidelines. Generally speaking, only records that
require frequent reference should be kept in the office. Other state government
records may be placed in inactive storage at the State Records Center.
Agencies
of local government may want to consider storing public records at the local
library, museum, or historical society. To do so, you must contact the State
Archivist for a sample deposit agreement form at (406) 444-6779. If records must be kept permanently, the Montana Historical
Society may be interested in obtaining them.
You need to consider the value of each record from a number
of different perspectives before deciding whether it must be preserved and for
how long:
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Administrative value. Most records are created
as administrative tools to help accomplish the functions for which an agency
was established. In most cases, the primary administrative value of a record
will be exhausted when the transaction to which it relates is completed.
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Legal value. If a record contains evidence of a
legally enforceable right or obligation of government, then it probably has
legal value. Among this type of record are those that show the basis for an
action (legal decisions, opinions), financial and other documents
representing legal agreements (leases, titles, contracts), and records of
actions taken in a particular case (claims, dockets). The legal value of a
record will often be evident from its title, such as contract, purchase
order, lease, title, deed, birth certificate, license, corporate charter,
some personnel records, and certain medical records.
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Fiscal value. To fulfill their financial
obligations, governmental agencies need to keep such records as budgets,
ledgers, allotments, payrolls, vouchers, warrants, and encumbrances. These
all have fiscal value, as would almost any document needed for a fiscal
audit.
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Historical value. Even when a document no longer
has any administrative, legal, or fiscal value, it still may have historical
or documentation value and so should be retained. Records that contain
authentic evidence of an agency's organization, function, policies,
decisions, procedures, operations, or other activities are examples. This
type of information may be found in policy records, organizational
documents, memos, correspondence, and reports. "Historical" records that
are not used in the day-to-day operations of an agency should be transferred
to the State Archives of the Montana Historical Society. If you need
guidance as to what constitutes a historical record, contact the State
Archivist at (406) 444-6779.
The General Records Retention Schedules provide guidelines for how long certain types of state government records must be kept.
For state government records not listed in the general schedules, your agency must draft a retention schedule and submit it to the State Records Committee for approval.
Guidelines for local government documents may be found in the Local Government Retention Schedules. The latter will offer guidance to county clerks and recorders, county treasurers, motor vehicle registrars, school clerks, and court clerks.
For local government records not listed in the schedules, contact the Local Government Records Committee.
Once a retention schedule is approved by one of the records committees, it is legally binding. No official public record may be destroyed without the approval of either the State or Local Records Committee.
More information about setting up a records management program or creating a retention schedule is available from the Records Management Division of the Secretary of State’s Office, (406) 444-9000. For further help, see Basic Steps in a Records Management Program.
When you no longer need regular access to certain records, you can dispose of them in one of the following ways:
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transfer to a storage facility
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transfer from one department or governmental entity to another
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transfer of permanent records to an archives
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destruction of temporary records
When a record is eligible for destruction, you can destroy it in one of the following ways:
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burning, pulping, shredding, macerating, burial
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discarding with other waste materials
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selling or salvaging the record medium (e.g. recycling)
Although the law allows you to destroy employment records 10 years after an employee has left your employ, you should consider keeping them longer, because they may not be available anywhere other than your office.
In the event of a lawsuit against your office, agency, or department, it is very important that you stop the destruction of records that might be pertinent to the suit, even if the records have met their scheduled retention period. If a judge thinks you intentionally destroyed pertinent records, your agency could be sanctioned. If your agency is presented with a subpoena, tell your staff attorney immediately and find out what records he or she may need in order to defend your agency.
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