Posts pertaining to local governments (counties, cities, school districts, special districts, etc.)
For the most part, the minimum retention periods set out in TSLAC’s schedules provide a specific amount of time that records must be kept. However, some record series have the retention period “AV: as long as administratively valuable.” How long should governments keep those types of records? Well, each government will need to make that…
When helping local governments achieve compliance, we commonly receive the questions about which forms to use. The compliance forms differ depending on whether you are non-elected or elected office. Sometimes we receive questions about the difference in elected by the public versus elected by the board in ascertaining the forms. What does the term “elected…
By Michelle Johnson As public servants, records and information management (RIM) is a simple fact of life—statute applies to us all. However, regulation does not imply homogeneity, and RIM programs are as unique as the entities that create them. April is RIM month, and we at TSLAC want to take a moment to celebrate all…
Agencies or local governments that are tight on storage space might look forward to speedily carrying out disposition on records that have met their full retention periods, but there are cases when reaching a destruction eligibility date may not put the records manager in the clear to destroy or transfer those records. In those cases,…
Are you looking to streamline your microfilm destruction methods? Do you already have a system in place? In any case, you might find these pointers below helpful to incorporate into your organization’s practices. Step 1: Make sure you have procedures in place. Will the destruction be done in-house, or will you hire an outside vendor?…
Are you in a similar situation to one or more of the cases presented below? ❑ Case 1: Our records management compliance files are from the 1990s or earlier. ❑ Case 2: We have several ordinances and/or letters from different periods instead of one document that has all our records management policy information. ❑ Case…
Of all the FAQs we get, this might be the most FAQiest of them all! Both local governments and state agencies want to know if they ‘go paperless’—if they digitize their essential records—can they get rid of the original paper or film copies? Yes! Records management laws and rules applicable to state agencies and local…
The local government schedules or your state agency’s retention schedule should list all of the types of records your local government or state agency creates or receives since the disposition of a record cannot be carried out if it is not included on a retention schedule. Even so, a time may come when you will…