Managing Your Records And The “Local Records Act”

1. Managing Your Records And The “Local Records Act”

2. Are You Running Out Of Room To Store Your Records? • If so the Local Records Act provides a way for you to systematically and legally dispose of your records.

3. The Local Records Act(50 ILCS 205) • The Local Records Act was passed in 1961 to provide a method for local government agencies to legally dispose of their records.

4. What Types Of Agencies Are Subject To The Local Records Act? • Municipalities • Junior Colleges • School Districts • County Agencies • Townships • MEG Units • Special Districts Such As Mosquito Abatement Districts, Local Airport Authorities, Fire Protection Districts, Library Districts

5. Local Records Commission Members • A Chairman of a County Board, who shall serve as the Chairman of the Commission. • A County Auditor • A State’s Attorney • A Mayor or President of a City, Village, or Incorporated Town • All of the aforementioned are appointed by the Governor

6. Local Records Commission Members • The State Archivist and • The State Historian

7. Local Records Commission Meetings • Meetings of the Local Records Commission are held monthly in the Norton Building and are open to the public. • The Norton Building is located in the Capitol Complex in Springfield.

8. Norton Building

9. How Does The Office of the Secretary of State Become Involved In This Process? • The Secretary of State serves as the State Archivist. • One of the duties of the State Archivist is to provide the support staff to the Local Records Commissions and the State Records Commission.

10. What is a public record under the “Local Records Act”? • "Public record" means any: • book • paper • map • photograph • digitized electronic material, • or other official documentary material,

11. Public Records • regardless of physical form or characteristics, • made, produced, executed or received by any agency or officer pursuant to law or in connection withthe transaction of public business and • preserved or appropriate for preservation by such agency or officer, or any successor thereof, • as evidence of the organization, function, policies, decisions, procedures, or other activities thereof, or because of the informational data contained therein.

12. Non-Records • Library and museum material made or acquired and preserved solely for reference or exhibition purposes, extra copies of documents preserved only for convenience of reference, and stocks of publications and of processed documents are not included within the definition of a public record. (Source: P.A. 89‑272, eff. 8‑10‑95.)

13. Are faxes, videos, emails, and instant messages records, etc.? • Yes, depending on the information contained in the fax, email or instant message or the information recorded on the dvd, cd, video, or cassette tape, etc. • If the information fits the aforementioned definition, it is a public record subject to the provisions of the “Local Records Act” regardless of the media in which the data is maintained.

14. Can We Scan Our Documents? • Yes, effective January 1, 2001, the Local Records Act (50ILCS205) was amended to allow Local Government agencies to reproduce existing public records in a digitized electronic format with the intent to dispose of the original records.

15. What type of media is acceptable for storage of electronic records? • They must be reproduced on a "durable medium that accurately and legibly reproduces the original record in all details," and "that does not permit additions, deletions, or changes to the original document images.”

16. Disposing of OriginalRecords and Replacing Originals With Digitized Records • Each agency is also under the obligation to file a Records Disposal Certificate with the appropriate Local Records Commission before any original record may be disposed of and before the reproduced digital record is disposed of.

17. Digitized Records • Agencies must remember that any information that was a public record when produced in paper remains a public record when produced or maintained in any digital format, and that any information created as, or converted to, an electronic format is a government asset and must be retained for any period required by law or Local Records Commission regulations.

18. “Freedom of Information Act” & Digitized Records • In addition, the digital records must be "retained in a trustworthy manner so that the records, and the information contained in the records, are accessible and usable for subsequent reference at all times while the information must be retained."

19. FOI Act • For more detailed information about the “Freedom of Information Act” please contact the IL Attorney General’s Office (217)782-1090 • http://www.ag.state.il.us/

20. What if I do not want to have an application done? • Disposing of any public record, regardless of format, before its retention is complete and notification given to the Local Records Commission is a Class 4 felony. • 720 ILCS 5/32-8

21. Why Is It Important To HaveA Records Inventory? • The records inventory is vital to an effective records management program because it identifies the scope and quantity of the records of an organization. • The information that comes from the records inventory serves as the basis for all decisions concerning the direction your records program will follow.

22. Other Reasons You May Find Having A Records Inventory To Be Beneficial • The inventory provides your agency with a ready-made FOI List. • If you have a disaster, the inventory will help you determine what records may have been lost. • It is the first of 2 steps to provide your agency with a way to legally dispose of your records.

23. Preparing For Our Visit Make Sure The Area Where The Records Are Maintained Is Easily Accessible

24. Provide Easy Access To Records That Are To Be Inventoried

25. What Information Is the Field Representative Looking For? • The earliest date for each record series. • The annual accumulation in cubic feet. • The total volume of each series in cubic feet. • The arrangement of each series.

26. How Does A Local Records Unit Field Representative Inventory Our Records? • The inventory may be a hands-on inventory of the records in your office and storage areas. • It may be done by question and answer. • Or a combination of the two.

27. After The Inventory • The field representative will prepare all the necessary documentation for submission to the Local Records Commission for you.

28. Application For Authority To Dispose of Local Records • This form is the final, typed version of the inventory worksheets that were prepared by the Local Records Unit field representative. • The cover sheet for the application must be signed by the head of the agency prior to submission to the Local Records Commission.

30. Records Listed On The Application May Be Disposed Of Providing: • the individual retention period is complete, and providing any local, state, and federal audit requirements have been met • no litigation is pending or anticipated • the records are correctly listed on a Records Disposal Certificate submitted to and approved by the appropriate Local Records Commission sixty (60) days prior to the intended destruction date

31. There May Be Other State And/or Federal Statutes or Regulations • If so, the records retention schedule approved by the Local Records Commission does not relieve local governments of retention requirements mandated by other state and federal statutes and regulations. • When such an obligation does exist, then the longer retention period takes precedence.

32. Digitizing or Microfilming Records • Agencies can digitize or microfilm records and dispose of the originals in accordance with the standards of Local Records Commission Rules and if the film or the digitized record is retained for the prescribed retention period. • Disposal of records after microfilming or digitizing must be noted on the Records Disposal Certificate.

33. What Will My Records Retention Schedule Look Like?

35. Item No. The Item No. And the Record Series Title:

36. What Was The Earliest Date Of The Record Series, The Field Representative Found At The Time of Inventory? • Dates: 1966- • Dates: (1895-1911)

37. What Was The Total Volume Of The Series At The Time Of The Inventory? • Volume: Negligible • Volume: 36 ½ Cu. Ft. Estimating Cubic Feet: • 1 Full Letter Size Drawer = 1.5 Cu. Ft. • 1 Full Legal Size Drawer = 2.0 Cu. Ft. • 1 Full Lateral File Size Drawer or Banker Box = 2.5 Cu. Ft.

38. Miscellaneous Measurements • If you just have a few file folders (less than .25 Cu. Ft. then “Negligible” will be entered. • A box about the size copy paper is received in generally holds approximately 1 Cu. Ft.

39. Annual Accumulation: Annual Accumulation: Negligible

40. How Was The Series Filed? Arrangement: Chronological and Numerical by Project No. Arrangement: Alphabetical Arrangement: Numerical Arrangement: Alpha-numerical

41. The Minimum Retention Period • Recommendation: • Retain successful bids for ten (10) years after terms of the related contract are completed, then dispose of. • Retain unsuccessful bids for three (3) years after rejection, then dispose of.

42. Must An Agency Dispose Of Records When The Minimum Retention Period Has Been Met? • No, you may retain the records for as long as you need or want after the minimum retention period has been met. • Even if you have submitted a Local Records Disposal Certificate indicating you intend to dispose of the records 60 days after the date of submission, you may still keep the records longer if you want to.

43. How Often Should Disposal Certificates Be Submitted? • Most agencies will submit one disposal certificate per year.

44. How Does The Commission Determine How Long A Record Should Be Retained? The values that should be considered in appraising records are: Administrative Value Fiscal Value Legal Value Historical or Archival Value

45. Appraisal Process • A sound records disposition program requires a realistic appraisal of the records in relation to their period of usefulness and value to the agency that created them as well as their usefulness to the public.

46. By appraising records you: • Establish reasonable retention periods • Identify records that can be destroyed after your retention schedule has been approved and a disposal certificate processed • Identify records with lasting value that should be retained permanently

47. Administrative Value The primary administrative use of most records is exhausted when the transactions to which they are related have been completed. From that point on they lose their value rapidly.

48. Administrative Value However, some administrative records contain basic facts about an agency’s origin, policies, functions, organization, and significant administrative decisions. These types of records should be preserved to provide adequate documentation of an agency’s operations. An example of a record with a permanent administrative value: agency rules, regulations, policies, and procedures

49. Legal Value • Records have legal value if they contain evidence of legally enforceable rights or obligations of the agency such as legal decisions and opinions; fiscal documents representing agreements, such as leases, titles and contracts; and records of action in particular cases, such as claim papers, legal opinions, and legal dockets.

50. Fiscal Value • (Financial Transactions) After records have served their basic administrative function, they may still have sufficient fiscal value to justify their retention in storage for a time to protect the agency against court action or to account for the expenditure of funds.