HomeMy WebLinkAboutRes-2017-160 Records Management PolicyBOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
COUNTY OF KITTITAS
STATE OF WASHINGTON
RESOLUTION
NO. 2017-I CIl 0
RESOLUTION TO ADOPT REVISED RECORDS MANAGEMENT POLICY
WHEREAS, the Kittitas County Board of Commissioners adopted a revised Records Management Policy
effective January 1, 2015; and
WHEREAS, the Washington Secretary of State published a revised Local Government Common Records
Retention Schedule (CORE), version 4.0 May 2017; and
WHEREAS, the Kittitas County Board of Commissioners previously directed the creation of a Records
Management Committee to support its efforts and obligations with regard to the creation,
capture, and retention of public records; and
WHEREAS, that committee researched and drafted a set of revisions to the policy which reflect changes
in the applicable standards and means for compliance with those standards; and
WHEREAS, the Board concurs in those proposed revisions, and desires to have those policies
implemented and used as the basis for training county employees;
NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Board of County Commissioners of Kittitas County,
Washington, hereby adopts the revisions made to the Records Management Policy that are
attached hereto and incorporated by reference.
DATED this ~{ day of ,2017, at Ellensburg, Washington .
BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
KITIITAS COUNTY, WASHINGTON
ABSENT
Obie O'Brien, Commissioner
Records Management Policy
Kittitas County Records Management Policies
1. Purpose
Kittitas County officials and employees are responsible for retaining records that document the
official work of the county in accordance with retention schedules approved by the Washington
State Archives' Local Records Committee. The purpose ofthis policy is to establish standards
for appropriate retention and destruction of records within the departments of Kittitas County
and to educate employees how to:
• IdentifY public records and their retention schedule.
• Manage, preserve, dispose of, and/or transfer, in compliance with approved retention
schedules, those records, regardless offormat or media, which document the
organization, functions, programs, policies, decisions, procedures, and essential
transactions of the County; and destroy records with minimal or no retention value.
2. Definitions
As used in this policy, the following term shall have the meaning indicated :
Archival (Appraisal Required)
Public records which may possess enduring legal and/or historic value and must be
appraised by the Washington State Archives on an individual basis.*
Archival (Permanent Retention)
Public records which possess enduring legal and/or historic value and must not be
destroyed. Local g vernl11t;nt agencie IllU l cith r tran fer th . rec rcls [0 W shint!tol1
tale ,rc h iYe or retain and preserve these records. ace rditH! to archiva l best ora lices
until uell lill1<: as Lhey al'\:: tran f'elTed to Washill!H n State Archives (W A).*
Born-digital
A record originally created as an electronic record. Born-digital records consist ofthe file
along with its metadata and any attachments. Paper records that have been digitized or
any other record converted into digital format are not born-digital.
Conversion
The activity of convertin!! the agencv's public records from one form (source records) to
aJlo1hcr (con el"Lcu records through (he procc c. f im aing (digi li\ffition or microfilm
orest;!'vuLion) or data migration (digital !' rnagllctictThe ao~i'li~y afeO llvertiRg fllibliu
~eel'4i-l:i:eRHme-ffiI:~m:ee+-eetlFEl5]-t-e-aflet ~er (eo~~l-feeefElsT-t'h~~IM+le
J?t=e€\."SSe~gillg (d i g i ,(.j~H--6· ~jcrom-mi*'eser·t'-a~E*11-tw4ua migralion (digital
fl'tagfl . *
Database Management System
(DBMS) A software system used to access and retrieve data stored in a database (e.g.
SQL Server, Oracle, Microsoft Access and other similar programs).
Electronic Information System
A system in which computerized records (electronic records) are collected, organized,
and categorized to facilitate their preservation, retrieval, use, access, and disposition.
Electronic Records
Any information in a format that only a machine can process, including but not limited to
video or audio cassette tape, punch card, email, voic mai l mes ag " text m s au ' and
word processing files . The electronic record includes its metadata.
Essential Records
Public records that local government agencies must have in order to maintain or resume
business continuity following a disaster. While the retention requirements for essential
records may range from very short-term to archival, these records are necessary for an
agency to resume its core functions following a disaster. * See R W 40. I 0 .0 10 .
Local Records Committee
(LRC) The committee established by RCW 40 . J 4,07.0 to review and approve disposition
of local government records. *
Metadata
Information describing the contents and context of data files; often referred to as "data
about data". This includes but is not limited to date of creation, access information,
database schema, author/sender, and electronic routing information.
Permanent Records
See Archival (Appraisal Required) and Archival (Penn anent Retention) above.
Preservation
The filing, storing, or any other method of systematically maintaining and keeping
secure, a record in its entirety, including metadata. This term covers materials not only
filed or otherwise systematically maintained but also those temporarily removed from
existing filing systems.
Primary Record Holder
The employee who creates the record, or is first to receive the record created by a non-
employee.
Public Records
RCW 40.14.010 -Definition and classification of public records.
" ... The term "public records" shall include any paper, correspondence, completed form,
bound record book, photograph, film, sound recording, map drawing, machine-readable
material, compact disc meeting current industry ISO specifications, or other document,
regardless of physical form or characteristics, and including such copies thereof, that
have been made by or received by any agency ofthe state of Washington in connection
with the transaction of public business ... "*
R{;',l/'12 .§-G.O 10'(3 ) "'pub lio reao rd " ino(..H-€le s an y\vri tiR IX co ntainin g illfo l'l ~
relaling to Ehe co ndu el ~nl: or the perlE)fIn anee of~"fflmental-et:
prop ri eltl:l)' fu nctiof1 prepf:H:eB;-OWnea , used or retained hy ~. slate or loea l agency
~ess of t3.hysie&1-'ffiI'ffi-ei:...efl.al'aeteristios.
~~e-i-Atei'flf:lti.an-l3efWee he two s~&t~e s muy impi:1<31 110..,../ .... ·1\;' we rotl:+in re ee rEi s.
Records with Minimal Retention Value
A group of records, performing a specific function, which is used as a unit , filed as a unit,
and may be transferred or destroyed as a unit. A records series may consist of a single
type of form or a number of different types of documents that are filed together to
document a specific function. * .. ~
Retention Period
The retention period is the minimum amount of time that an agency is required to retain
records within a record series. Retention periods are provided in records retention
schedules.
Secondary Records
apies ( r dUDI i ate') ()r th e agency' primal' re cord · 1I eel 'lor 'peci fie le!!a l. .Ii CHI. r
administra t i e purposes . Gej?i~:r cor ds (ert*H-eEI-~'fiEi khttt-the agellcy
relaiFi S lhe p/:tIflUFY reeard iFi a~H ttA-~HlWr-&veEl-mtITi+tltl~1'I -f'et,eflfi-etl'
~*
Transitory Records
\! Re ord with MillimaJ E ctenti 11 Va lu e
~·i€-re~AaI-eA-~8eatfflef+H ITf&flMl:i a-aHt-~er=aPw~:':-, Sf. 'H31'1:-te1I'tlt--Aai
~ ~h~Fecords are :
&-NOt fleedea as e\'itl e il ee ofa oo si ness lrtll1s8 C{i ow.----aOO
e Not c-(pierea by a mOfe-st>e~es-:1l
* Local Government Common Records Retention Schedule (CORE), Version ~.O ~
Ma 20J7~)
3. Policy
3.1 Id entifying P ublic Records
Public records are defined by three key criteria in RCW 40 .14.010 a£I~~:
1. Made by or received by any agency oftfl the State of Washington
2. In connection with the transaction of public business
3. Regardless of physical fonn or characteristics
A record provides evidence of an agency's decisions and actions, and therefore has a retention
value.
3. J.I Records TRda
-Nei:,~era l CouRt)' records index enists. Depa:RmeRts that eli6 o.se to maintain an in~:e
~le-~'flb1--the-~s-t!laH!e-nel-B-CWe-aR-indeu are not required-l:e
ereattH:)ne as the Board of County Gommiss ioAefs has det.ermin~s-re:I'lee-teEl--i:n KeG 2.55.030.
lha~ suoh would be undu~6ffi e, thus im' . -,' 'ided for in RG-W
42.56.070(4).
A-te%14rm.a'E*-i.s-J7al7J.i:(.,,4y-d-~e-~osat)Ie-aR4-t.j.}eFef > 1-~lf)t:lM 6't-ee-Htli~f1--afly-seH.'~'1ffl<'6f
feE:! aatable jlilUI·I:rtat:t&1+.-
3.2 Preserving Public Records
Kittitas County officials and employees shall retain all public records that document the official
work of the county. These records, regardless offonnat or media, shall be retained in their native
fonnat for the minimum period required by retention schedules approved under R W 40.14 and
WAC 434-635.
The Primary Record Holder is responsible for retention of the record for the prescribed period of
time.
Departments shall pr ' sctib e an appropri ate r C I'd management programso ree rd are
identified, preserved, organized, retained, and easilv recalled.
Each d parlll1ent sha ll. at a minimum:
.g~ncnts 5hall pres~~priale I'ec(ll'd s mail1leA8ACe program se. li'Hll:e8tHplete
r-el;· I' !!HtI:e-I+~kef.w.i.se-i-4eA .. ,j.fte4-afld'"P'I'eSef¥edrl;e£-oI'4reAtrhe4fntfl ~e ~:eetle . A~
~i+i~ffiA-aAcl~1-teR-efl)ermal'teFl', e!iSenlialaAtl/or lIrol1ityal reeord~i ere faQilitatea. and
'l*ffl'lfltHffi~~8RtF~!s-a ' j:tl~'Si =a-j.1 ' H.~~etTeniettl~gl'egak*.
2. MaiAtain records in their enl-irety
J..:--~flHl ~s}l.)f.H~}€ke&t:ti'i4;:
rganile reeoHis for ea5~' r-eea+~
~i~I;~I'eeeElttres-aHa..a€l-Hef~~'
3.2.1 Electronic Records
Unless otherwise noted, records retention requirements apply to all electronic information
systems. This section discusses specific aspects of electronic records retention:
I. Original format: all electronic records must be kept in the record's original format. This
demonstrates the authenticity of the record, maintains the context o f the record, and
preserves both the record and its metadata.
2. Conversion: conversion of a primary record from one data format to another is allowable
only ifthe need for conversion and method is documented and all original metadata is
preserved. Examples of when this is appropriate include new versions of software from
the same vendor or moving from software of one vendor to that of another. Converting to
a different format does not change any retention requirements. If a paper ree I'd has a 6
Veal' retent ion beginning 4/112 015 \ hen it was rec i ed b . the county. canning that
pi cc r naner t an image n 3/112 17 doc. n l change the retention requirement: th
canl1,.;d do ullll:O nll1as the original 6 veal' retention fj-om 4/1/2 15A+a-r~9f4.+1a, a 5 year
feteI~t:ion aRa the origina4-fe.fmat is panef;-SeAA-Afag ,thElf f1iece of paper t:e AA il1~Age dees
H Kftooge the ra~+J...fta5 a5 yeaF fet~ I'l \,ruU:e. COI~~e1~e*,nelll ('f:Jal
~li\~ fI' re~lTttefH-e -£r;f;IE1-~~1'I k.4ttlHg~~le-rot.~=t-ef..l-li ~'6I'EI-efef.\t-eG-ifl
~\l(:Wth
3. External systems: Kittitas County departments with access to external electronic systems"
e.g. OUl'ts ( • JlS) and law cnforcc.!-m nl O<I r M. pillman), shall ensure that
county records sent or received on these system ~ ~,Af} c.-J~.st,-+aw
~-(KrITCOM gpillHlafl1 are preserved in an appropriate manner prior to
being sent to such systems to the extent necessary to retain those records and access to
them as may be required by law including applicable retention schedules.
4. County systems: Kittitas County IT is responsible for maintaining the county network
and its storage devices. The primary record holder is responsible for maintaining and
retaining their records within that system . Electronic backups of county systems are short
term and for disaster recovery only, and as such shall not be relied upon for records
management and retention.
3.3 Disposition of Public Records
Records will be destroyed at the end oftheir retention period. Secondary copies and Iher
records with minimal retention value, as defined in the Local Government Common Records
R ele nt ion e hedul e w ill be d ~troyed when t hey are no lon ger needed to r agency business.
R ecord s may be retaine d lo ng r than the requ ired minimum pe ri o d .llillY.if lh e need is
documented.
All records not on legal hold must be destroyed once they have passed their retention period and
any documented extensions. Records destruction shall be documented on the Kittitas County
Records Disposition Log-;-e ccpt for those whose minimum rClention is "Retain until no longer
needed for agency business, then destroy."
At a minimum, each department shall ensure that:
1. After the retention requirements have been met for records that are listed as archival or
potentially archival according to the Secretary of State Retention Schedule, the
department shall contact the regional archives for appraisal and possible transfer.
2. Procedures are established and are followed for disposition of all copies of records.
3 . All records scheduled for disposition are disposed of in a manner that ensures destruction
of any sensitive, private, proprietary, or security information.
3.3.1 Legal Holds
The County is prohibited from destroying a public record, even if it is about to be lawfully
destroyed under a retention schedule, if a public records request has been made for that record.
Additional retention requirements might apply ifthe records may be relevant to actual or
anticipated litigation . The agency is required to retain the record until the record request and
litigation has been resolved.
3.3.2 Digitizing and Destroying (Scanniug and Tossing)
For early destruction after digitization (.f:)A-Q~ca.l1njng), see the app li cable C(}U I1Lv procedure . and
current approved records retention schedule, section 5.5 Records Conversion .
Archival paper-ba ed o uree records must be transferred to the Washington
The se records may be imaged -and verified to be complete and accurate -in accordance with
couuty procedur and Washi ngton late Archives rcqll iremen1 . then transferred to the Archives
prior to the ret e ntion reg uirem nt.
3.4 Transfer of Public Records
Records considered archival (permanent retention) must be retained and preserved according to
archival best practices until such time as they are transferred to Washington State Archives.
R 40.14.030, 4 0 .14 .070(2)(a)(iii); WA 434-615-030
Records that require appraisal must be coordinated with the State Archivist.
3.5 Training
Department HeadslElected Officials (DH/EOs), in coordination with the Records Management
Committee, are responsible for training employees regarding policy and procedures. DHIEOs
will ensure accessibility of records management policy and procedures to all county employees .
~
4. Resources
For additional information and resources, see the Kittitas County Records Management
halldb ok on lin e at hUp:l1camas-w iki /policy/v'l iki/Rccord ' Mal1ug el11 t,;l1t Handb okwea:~
fl#11 :lkaIll8s netfifi.~H:H:·oslreeord!i msnagemenV .
;\dopkd by the Board or Cl1unty Commissioncr, on 021 17:'2.015, nC~()I\ltiO!l2U 15-033