Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutPolicy 05-A - Records Policy and Procedures - Records Retention and DestructionOTAY WATER DISTRICT BOARD OF DIRECTORS POLICY Subject Policy Number Date Adopted Date Revised RECORDS RETENTION AND DESTRUCTION 05-A 02/03/10 07/01/16 Page 1 of 4 I.PURPOSE To ensure that necessary records and documents of the Otay Water District are adequately protected and maintained and to ensure that records that are no longer needed or are of no value are discarded at the proper time. This Policy also serves as assistance in providing management with the information necessary for and aiding of District employees in understanding their obligations in retaining electronic documents that are developed during phases of records creation and to assist in controlling the life cycle of all District records, including e-mail, Web files, text files, sound and movie files, PDF documents, and all Microsoft Office or other formatted files. II.SCOPE This policy is applicable to all District departments and offices directly responsible to the General Manager. The objectives of the Records Retention Policy are: To ensure that all legal, historical, fiscal, and administrative requirements are satisfied before records are destroyed. To conserve District resources, such as space and staff time, by managing records and removing inactive or obsolete material from office files. To maintain a regular, controlled flow of records from offices to destruction or archive storage. III.POLICY This policy represents the District’s policy regarding the retention and disposal of records, including electronic documents. Attached as Appendix 1 is a Record Retention Schedule that is approved as the District’s maintenance, retention and disposal schedule for physical records and the retention and disposal of electronic documents. IV.DEFINITION (a)Public Record – Any writing as set forth in California Government Code Section 6252, but generally shall include any writing containing information relating to the conduct of the public’s business prepared, owned, used or retained by the District, regardless of physical form or characteristics. OTAY WATER DISTRICT BOARD OF DIRECTORS POLICY Subject Policy Number Date Adopted Date Revised RECORDS RETENTION AND DESTRUCTION 05-A 02/03/10 07/01/16 Page 2 of 4 (b)Records Management – The planned and systematic control of business records from their creation or receipt, through final disposition. (c) Records Retention Schedule – The document that outlines how long a document must be kept by law, or longer, if needed for District operations. (d) Official Record - The records to which retention schedules apply. (e)Retention Period – The length of time a record needs to be maintained to satisfy the purposes for which it was created, and to fulfill legal, fiscal, and administrative requirements of the District. (f) Transitory Records – Records that are of informal communications produced via a computer (E-mail), routine requests, posted notes or other temporary medium. Transitory records are designed to have a limited retention period and as such, are not considered records unless they are in relation to another document or project. (g) Abbreviations – The following abbreviations are used in the Records Retention Schedule: A = Active Financial Audit ACT = Active (e.g., while the contract is active or while an employee is still working for the District) C = Closed, Expired CY = Calendar Year FY = Fiscal Year L = Life of Facility P = Permanent R = Revised, Cancelled, Obsolete, or Superseded T = Termination, Death V.ADMINISTRATION A.General 1.The District’s General Manager is the officer in charge of the administration of this Policy and the implementation of processes and procedures to ensure that the Record Retention Schedule is followed. 2.The General Manager is also authorized to make modifications to these procedures and to the Record Retention Schedule from time to time to ensure that it is in compliance with local, state and federal laws including policies and procedures, the appropriate documents and record categories OTAY WATER DISTRICT BOARD OF DIRECTORS POLICY Subject Policy Number Date Adopted Date Revised RECORDS RETENTION AND DESTRUCTION 05-A 02/03/10 07/01/16 Page 3 of 4 for the District; work with the District’s General Counsel to monitor local, state and federal laws affecting record retention; periodically review the record retention and disposal program; and monitor compliance with this Policy. B.Suspension of Record Disposal due to Litigation or Claims In the event the District is served with any subpoena or request for documents or any employee becomes aware of a governmental investigation or audit or the commencement of any litigation against or concerning the District, such employee shall inform the General Manager and any further disposal of documents shall be suspended until such time as the General Manager, with the advice of counsel, determines otherwise. The General Manager shall take steps to promptly inform all staff of any suspension in the further disposal of documents. C.Records Retention Schedule Organization 1.The Record Retention Schedule is organized by type of records, description of records, governing authority, and its retention period. D. Destruction of Records All records shown on the Records Retention Schedule shall be retained for the period indicated on the Records Retention Schedule and may be destroyed thereafter. The General Manager or designee of the District is authorized to destroy records of the District according to the Records Retention Schedule without further authorization from the Board of Directors. E.Method of Destruction of Records Official records at the end of their retention period are eligible for destruction. A destruction approval report is used to list eligible records and obtain appropriate approvals. Official records shall not be destroyed if any legal action, audit or government investigation involving those records is identified. Destruction of paper records shall be by shredding or other legally acceptable method. A Certificate of Destruction or other accepted form of documentation shall be prepared and saved permanently within the District’s Retention Management System. Electronic OTAY WATER DISTRICT BOARD OF DIRECTORS POLICY Subject Policy Number Date Adopted Date Revised RECORDS RETENTION AND DESTRUCTION 05-A 02/03/10 07/01/16 Page 4 of 4 records shall be deleted by removing those records from the system on which they reside and erasing the data. Deleted electronic records, including emails are considered to have been disposed/destroyed once they are deleted from the active computer system and any storage devices. CITATIONS B & P – Business and Professions Code CCP - Code of Civil Procedures CCR - Code of California Regulations CEQA - California Environmental Quality Act CFR - Code of Federal Regulations CVC - California Vehicle Code GC - Government Code H&S - Health & Safety LC - Labor Code OMB - Office Management & Budget OPS - Opinion Attorney General OSHA - Occupational Safety & Health Act PC - Penal Code USC - United States Code WC - Water Code