200 - General Provisions

 

1.  Records management falls into two categories: records maintained within the facilities of the department/agency and records transferred to the Records Retention Center for maintenance by the Purchasing Division of the General Services Department.

 

2.  It should be the goal of each department/agency to reduce records retention, both internal and external, to the minimum required by law and prudent management.  In an effort to carry out this goal, all departments are required to take the following actions:

 

      a.      Assign a department manager to evaluate, prepare and maintain a departmental records management and storage plan.

 

      b.     Keep the General Services Department advised of the name of the departmental designee.

 

      c.    Review overall lists of records maintained at the Warehouse on an annual basis, and authorize destruction of unneeded records as appropriate.

 

      d.      Review list of records scheduled for destruction as provided by General Services annually, and authorize destruction of records in accordance with approved retention schedules. For any records the department believes may be historically significant, they shall notify General Services Department that the Historical Resources Commission should be given the opportunity to review for historical significance prior to destruction.

 

3.      Records retention space in the Center is at a minimum and only absolutely necessary records can be retained.  It should also be noted that records maintained in the Center are not easily accessible; and, therefore, the Center should not be used as an extension of department/agency working files. It should be used for limited access records, which must be retained for extended periods of time.

 

4.       It is the policy of the Board of Supervisors to preserve records of historic significance. Records that are considered to be of potential historic significance should be identified and described as completely as possible prior to their transfer to the records retention Center.  The following types of records are normally considered by departments for permanent, or archival, retention: organization charts and reorganization studies; minutes of meeting of boards and commissions; minute, agenda, and proposals of meetings of ad hoc committees and task forces; legal opinions and comments on legislation; creative directive; public relations records; news release; original publications, posters, brochures, and in-house newsletters; and unique research. Records can also be considered for permanent retention because the record meets one or more of the following criteria:

 

      a.    It establishes a precedent and results in a major policy or procedural change;

      b.    It is involved in extensive litigation;

      c.    It receives widespread attention from the news media;

      d.      It is widely recognized for its uniqueness by specialists or authorities outside the County; or

      e.     It is selected to document agency procedures.

 

5. Purchasing provides a detailed "Paperwork Management Handbook" for use by departments in conjunction with their records management program. This handbook contains information on carrying out records reduction programs and offers suggestions for in-house records management procedures.