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RESEARCH TOOLS › MRSC Index › General Government - Records management, state records management requirements

MRSC Index A topical index to MRSC's information resources.

General Government: G 9.4000 - Records management, state records management requirements

Expand Section Electronic Documents (7 Results)

Expand Section Paper Documents (1 Results)

  1. Electronic mail: guidelines for developing policy and establishing procedures for email. Office of the Secretary of State, Division of Archives and Record Management
    Request this document | Document Date: 3/01
    Jurisdiction: WA State

Expand Section MRSC Library Catalog Documents

Expand Section Featured Inquiries (7 Results)

  1. Are there any requirements that town records be "maintained" on the town premises? For example, since the mayor is the person who deals with personnel issues, can he maintain the personnel files in a location separate from town hall due to the need to access them during non-business hours and for privacy reasons?
    Our position is that the records must remain in the office where they are filed, except for limited circumstances or on a temporary basis. WAC 434-615-020 supports this conclusion; it provides in part:

    Unless otherwise provided by law, public records must remain in the legal custody of the office in which they were originally filed, which shall be considered the office of record, or shall be destroyed or transferred pursuant to instructions from the state or local records committee as required by Ch. 40.14 RCW. They shall not be placed in the legal or physical custody of any other person or agency, public or private, or released to individuals, except for disposition pursuant to law or unless otherwise expressly provided by law or by these regulations.

    This regulation makes it clear that original records should not be allowed to be taken from the office in which they were originally filed, except under certain specific circumstances.



  2. How long are job interview notes to be retained?
    According to the local government common records retention schedule, section 4.10.11 (p. 155 of 2008 version) published by the Office of the Secretary of State, Division of Archives and Records Management, the following should be retained for three years:

    RECRUITMENT FILES - Documents recruitment and selection process for each advertised position, including newspaper announcement, job description, working papers/notes, applicant list, interview questions and notes, selection documents, and employee applications.

    The three-year requirement is consistent with the limitation of action for EEO discrimination complaints which is set at 3 years. See RCW 4.16.080(2). Test results are also to be retained for three years.



  3. What is the records retention schedule?
    The general records retention schedule is issued by the Local Records Committee to serve as the retention schedule and disposition authority for records commonly held by local government agencies. The Local Records Committee is a committee which includes the State Archivist, a representative from the Office of the Attorney General, and a representative from the Office of the State Auditor.

    The general records retention schedules may be applied directly by agencies as authority to destroy the records listed after the expiration of their approved retention periods. It requires no further authorization or approval.

    The most recent versions of the Records Management Guidelines and General Records Retention Schedules are available on the State Archivist website.  Those documents are updated periodically.

    In addition to the general records retention schedule applicable to local government agencies, there are retention schedules for some specific departments of county government.  Review the Stae Archivist website for further information.



  4. May some public records be stored in private buildings?

    Yes.  Public records are the property of the local government agency that created them, and should be stored in a secure and efficient way. Public records may be stored in any public building or even in a private, rented records storage facility. The security of the records must be maintained wherever they are stored.  Becuase of the need to access records quickly when responding to a request for disclosure, it would be unwise to store public records in a location that makes access difficult or time consuming.

    See WAC 434-615-020, which requires that records generally be stored in the public buildings of the agency where they were originally filed.



  5. How long must a city or county retain the minutes of advisory boards, committees or commissions?
    The Local Government Common Records Retention Schedule (CORE), December 2008, (Adobe Acrobat Document 1.55 MB) indicates on p. 16 that such records shall be retained for 6 years, and have potential archival value, so your Regional Archivist should be contacted before disposing of the records.

    For more information on this topic, see the following:

     



  6. What is the retention period for a video recording made by a camera in a police car for routine traffic stops?
    The retention period for such video recordings is 90 days. This is provided in the Records Management Guidelines and General Records Retention Schedules for Law Enforcement Agencies of Washington State, 2001, provides in the section on "Evidence" (page 53, Series No. 9) that video tapes or other recordings from mobile units, when the recording does not relate to a specific case investigation (e.g., a routine traffic stop), the retention period is 90 days. After 90 days, the tape can be reused.

  7. How long must the city keep building permit records?
    That depends. The records concerning permit application and approval only need to be kept until completion of the project or issuance of a certificate of occupancy, but the actual building permit, project inspection records, certificate of occupancy, and records concerning administrative decisions, legal actions, variances and special conditions must be kept for the life of the building plus six years. This data is found in the General Records Retention Schedules for All Local Government Agencies - see "Records Category: Land Use Planning, Permits, and Appeals."

Expand Section Subject Pages (1 Results)

  1. Records Management
    This page provides links to information about records management