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HomeMy WebLinkAbout17 027 Records Retention By-law THE CORPORATION OF THE MUNICIPALITY OF KINCARDINE ICLPALITYOF K\HCP�\� BY-LAW NO. 2017 - 027 BEING A BY-LAW TO PROVIDE A SCHEDULE OF RETENTION PERIODS FOR THE RECORDS OF THE CORPORATION OF THE MUNICIPALITY OF KINCARDINE AND TO REPEAL BY-LAW NO. 2001 - 143 WHEREAS Section 255 of the Municipal Act 2001, S.O. 2001, c. 25, as amended, provides that a municipality may, subject to the approval of the municipal auditor, establish retention periods during which the records of the municipality and local • boards of the municipality must be retained and preserved in accordance with Section 254 thereof; AND WHEREAS the Council of The Corporation of the Municipality of Kincardine deems it desirable to establish retention periods for the records of the Municipality and local boards by enactment of this by-law; NOW THEREFORE the Council of The Corporation of the Municipality of Kincardine ENACTS as follows: 1. That the Records Retention Program Policy to standardize the policies and practices for all records of The Corporation of the Municipality of Kincardine, attached hereto as Schedule "A", be adopted. 2. That authority for establishing and amending retention periods for the records of The Corporation of the Municipality of Kincardine is delegated to the Municipal Clerk subject to the approval of the Municipal Auditor for such schedules. • 3. That By-law No. 2001-143 and all amendments thereto are hereby repealed. 4. This By-law shall come into full force and effect upon its final passage. 5. This by-law may be cited as the "Records Retention By-law". READ a FIRST and SECOND TIME this 1st day of March, 2017. READ a THIRD TIME and FINALLY PASSED this 1st day of March, 2017. _ Km Mayor Clerk ll • Page 1 of 4 Schedule A Records Retention By-law By-law No. 2017 - 027 MUNICIPALITY OF KINCARDINE • RECORDS RETENTION PROGRAM POLICY 1. DEFINITIONS a) Auditor means the person or firm appointed by the Council of The Corporation of the Municipality of Kincardine from time to time to perform the annual audit of the records of the Municipality of Kincardine. b) Classification (as in records classification) means the systematic identification and arrangement of records into categories according to logically structured conventions, methods, and procedural rules, represented in a classification scheme. c) Clerk means the Clerk of The Corporation of the Municipality of Kincardine; d) Destroy means the process of eliminating or deleting data, documents and records so that the recorded information no longer exists. NOTE See also • the definition for expungement. e) Disposition with respect to records — means a range of processes; associated actions; implementation; retention; destruction; loss; or transfer of custody or ownership that are documented in disposition authorities or other instruments. f) Expungement means a process to eliminate completely, to wipe out, to destroy, or to obliterate an electronic record NOTE: See also the definition for destruction. g) Files has the same meaning as "records" and may be used inter- changeably. h) Medium/media means the physical material which serves as a functional unit, in or on which information or data is normally recorded, in which information or data can be retained and carried, from which information or data can be retrieved, and which is nonvolatile in nature. • i) Records Management Coordinator means the Clerk and/or their designate. j) Official records means recorded information in any format or medium that documents the company's business activities, rights, obligations or responsibilities or recorded information that was created, received distributed or maintained by the company in compliance with a legal obligation. k) Orphan Data means data that is not machine readable because the data exists with no identifiable computer application or system that can retrieve it, or the data is machine readable but does not have sufficient content, context or structure to render it understandable. I) Records means any recorded information, however recorded, whether in printed form, on film, by electronic means or otherwise, including correspondence, memoranda, plans, maps, drawings, graphic works, photographs, film, microfilm, microfiche, sound records, videotapes, • LaserFiche, e-mail, machine readable records, and any other documentary material regardless of physical form or characteristics, and including "official business records" and "temporary records". Page 2 of 4 Schedule A Records Retention By-law By-law No. 2017 - 027 m) Retention period means the period of time during which records must be • kept by the Municipality before they may be disposed of. n) Retention schedule means a control document that describes the company's records at a series level, and indicates the length of time that each series shall be retained before its final disposition. It specifies those records to be preserved for their archival or legal values, and authorizes on a continuing basis the destruction of the remaining records after the lapse of a specified retention period or the occurrence of specified actions or events. Records retention schedules serve as the legal authorization for the disposal of the company's records. o) Municipality means The Corporation of the Municipality of Kincardine. p) Temporary records means records kept solely for convenience of reference and of limited value in documenting the planning or implementation of Municipality policy or programs, such as: i) copies of miscellaneous notices or memoranda concerning routine administrative matters or other minor issues; • ii) information copies of widely distributed materials, such as minutes, agendas and newsletters, unless the information copy has been annotated to reflect significant input or for other program purposes; iii) preliminary drafts of letters, memoranda or reports and other informal notes which do not represent significant steps in the preparation of a final document and which do not record decisions; iv) duplicate copies of documents in the same medium which are retained only for convenience or future distribution; v) voice-mail messages; vi) e-mail messages and other communications that do not relate to Municipality business; vii) copies of publications, such as, published reports, administration manuals, telephone directories, catalogues, pamphlets or periodicals; viii) duplicate stocks of obsolete publications, pamphlets or blank forms; ix) unsolicited advertising materials, including brochures, company profiles and price lists. • 2. RETENTION SCHEDULE a) The Clerk shall have the authority for establishing or amending retention periods for the records of The Corporation of the Municipality of Kincardine to comply with all relevant legal requirements for records retention. b) In determining the retention periods for any records, the Clerk shall consider, in consultation with other Municipality employees where appropriate: i. The operational nature of the records, including the period of time during which the Municipality uses the records to perform its functions; ii. The legal nature of the records, including the period of time necessary to comply with statutory or regulatory requirements or requirements imposed by agreements, permits or similar documents, or to ensure that the records are available in case of investigation or litigation; iii. The fiscal nature of the records, including the period to time necessary for audit or tax purposes; and, iv. The historical nature of the records, including the long-term value of the • records for documenting past events or the origins and history of the Municipality. 3. EMPLOYEE RESPONSIBILITIES Page 3 of 4 Schedule A Records Retention By-law By-law No. 2017 - 027 All Municipality employees who create, work with or manage records shall: • i. Comply with the retention periods; ii. Ensure that official records in their custody or control are protected from inadvertent destruction or damage; and, iii. Ensure that temporary records in their custody or control are destroyed when they are no longer needed for short-term reference. 4. RECORDS MANAGEMENT COORDINATOR The Records Management Coordinator shall: i. Develop and administer policies and establish and administer procedures for the Municipality's records management program; ii. Periodically review and make recommendations with respect to this by- law; iii. Ensure that official records are preserved and disposed of in accordance with retention periods; and, iv. Ensure that all disposition notices prepared pursuant to Subsection (a) of Section 5 of this by-law and all certificates of disposition prepared • pursuant to Subsection (f) of Section 5 of this by-law are preserved. 5. DISPOSITION OF RECORDS a) The Records Management Coordinator shall notify the appropriate department head in writing of the scheduled disposition of records, including a list of the records eligible for disposition and the scheduled disposition date. b) The department head shall notify the Records Management Coordinator in writing, before the scheduled disposition date, whether any of the records included in the disposition notice need to be retained past the scheduled disposition date, and the reason why such further retention is necessary. c) Prior to destruction of an information database or orphan data, the following documents are required: 1. a written description containing, to the extent that such information is available, the following: • a. the title of the system; b. the identification of the business unit responsible for the creation or use of the data; c. a brief description of the system's purpose; d. where possible, a contents list of the information being destroyed; or e. a brief description of any sub-systems, their purpose and relationship to the main system or other sub-systems; and f. the name of the technical contact person who is responsible for documenting the system; 2. the written approval of the signing authority; 3. where applicable to satisfy the provisions of the Federal Income Tax Act, Excise Tax Act, Employment Insurance Act or Canada Pension Plan, an exemption from the Minister of National Revenue from the requirement to keep records in an electronically readable format; and • 4. After the destruction of an information database or orphan data, the signing authority must provide a destruction certificate to the Records Management Coordinator to provide an audit trail. Page 4 of 4 Schedule A Records Retention By-law By-law No. 2017 - 027 d) Where appropriate and taking into account the principles governing the • disposition of official records, the Records Management Coordinator shall re-schedule the disposition of any records listed in the notice referred to in Subsection (b) of this Section for up to one year later than the scheduled disposition date. e) Re-scheduling the disposition of any records beyond a one year period requires written notice from the Municipality department head to the Records Management Coordinator for each additional year. f) When official records have been disposed of pursuant to this by-law, the Records Management Coordinator shall obtain written confirmation of such disposition. 6. PRINCIPLES GOVERNING THE DESTRUCTION OF OFFICIAL RECORDS a) The following principles govern the destruction of official records: i. When there are no further business or legal reasons for retaining official records, they shall be destroyed or expunged as appropriate; • ii. Official business records pertaining to pending or actual investigation or litigation shall not be destroyed; iii. Official business records disposed of at the end of a retention period, as well as drafts and copies of records disposed of on a regular basis, shall be destroyed in a way that preserves the confidentiality of any information they contain. b) Official records in the custody or control of the Municipality shall not be destroyed unless such records are older than the retention period and have been identified in a disposition notice prepared pursuant to Subsection (a) of Section 5 of this by-law. c) Copies of official business records may be destroyed at any time if the original records are being retained in accordance with the retention period. • •