Records Management Policy — full text

This is an automated transcription (OCR) of the captured official document — minor recognition errors are possible; the source document governs. Snapshot 3d6b75fdb8f0 · verified 2026-06-05 · original document · archived snapshot · unofficial consolidation, the official version is held by the municipal clerk.

## Records Management Policy ## Title 1. This policy may be cited as the "Records Management Policy." ## Interpretation ## 2. In this policy: - (1) "Council" means the council of the Town of Antigonish; - (2) "Designated Officer" means the person designated and authorized by the Chief Administrative Officer of the Town to manage and maintain the Records Management System; - (3) "Manual" means the Association of Municipal Administrators Records Management Manual, as amended from time to time; - (4) "Record" includes books, documents, maps, drawings, photographs, letters, vouchers, papers and any other thing on which information is recorded or stored by graphic, electronic, mechanical or other means, but does not include a computer program or any other mechanism that produces records; - (5) "Records Management System" means an electronic or paper-based system used by the Town to manage the records of the Town from record creation through to records disposal; ## Records Management System Established - The Town of Antigonish adopts the Association of Municipal Administrators of Nova Scotia's Records Management Manual as its record management system. ## Compliance with Records Management System - All records in the custody and control of the employees of the Town are the property of the Town. All records of the Town must comply with the Records Management System and this policy. - All employees and management of the Town must comply with this policy. ## Designated Officer - The Designated Officer is responsible for the management and maintenance of the Records Management System. ## Adoption of the Manual 7. The Designated Officer is authorized to adopt and maintain the Manual as part of the Records Management System. Records of the Town must be created, accessed, maintained and disposed of only as provided by the Manual. The Manual includes a Records Retention Schedule that prescribes the period of time that records are kept to meet the operational, legal, regulatory, financial or other requirements of the Town. The Records Retention Schedule also provides instructions as to the manner and time of the disposition of a record. ## Integrity and Authenticity Maintained 8. The Records Management System must maintain the integrity and authenticity of records made or kept in the usual and ordinary course of business. ## Authorization to Amend Manual 9. The Designated Officer is authorized to amend the Manual. ## Disposal by Designated Officer 10. When the Designated Officer determines that the retention period for a given record described in the Records Retention Schedule has ended, the Designated Officer may allow the record to be destroyed or otherwise disposed of in accordance with the instructions outlined in the Records Retention Schedule and in consultation with stakeholders within the organization as detailed below: - (1) The destruction actions must always be authorized, allowing for staff to intercede if specific issues such as a government investigation, audit, freedom of information access request, litigation or legal claim require that destruction must be halted. - (2) Records pertaining to any actual or pending government investigation, audit, freedom of information access request, litigation or legal claim should not be destroyed. There should be processes to impose a "legal hold" when specific requirements arise; - (3) Records destruction should be undertaken in a manner that preserves the confidentiality of records, including the privacy of information about individuals; - (4) All copies of records that are authorized for destruction, including security, preservation and backup copies, should be destroyed as soon as reasonably possible; and - (5) Records should be maintained to document the destruction actions. Certificates of destruction are generally provided by service agencies, and these are retained permanently, along with information about the records series title, date range and date of destruction 11. Records that are required by any enactment to be kept, and all minutes, by-laws, policies and resolutions of Council shall not be destroyed.   ## CAO's Annotation for Official Policy Book Date of Notice to Council Members of Intent: To Consider (Minimum 7 Days): Date of Passage of Current Policy: Tens / Chief Administrative Officer November 16, 2015 November 23, 2015 November 23, 2015 Mank4/306