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TOWN OF PORT HAWKESBURY
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 Port Hawkesbury;
(2)
"Designated Officer" means the person designated and authorized by the Chief
Administrative Officer of the Town of Port Hawkesbury to act on behalf of the
Town of Port Hawkesbury to manage and maintain the Records Management
System;
(3)
"Manual" means the AMA Records Management Manual, second edition, 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 of Port Hawkesbury to manage the records of the Town of
Port Hawkesbury from record creation through to records disposal;
RECORDS MANAGEMENT SYSTEM ESTABLISHED
3.
The Records Management System of the Town of Port Hawkesbury is established and
authorized.
COMPLIANCE WITH RECORDS MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
4.
All records in the custody and control of the employees of the Town of Port Hawkesbury
are the property of the Town of Port Hawkesbury. All records of the Town of Port
Hawkesbury must comply with the Records Management System and this policy. All
employees and management of the Town of Port Hawkesbury must comply with this
policy.
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Town of Port Hawkesbury
Records Management Policy
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DESIGNATED OFFICER
5.
The Designated Officer is responsible for the management and maintenance of the
Records Management System.
ADOPTION OF THE MANUAL
6.
The Designated Officer is authorized to adopt and maintain the Manual as part of the
Records Management System. Records of the Town of Port Hawkesbury 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 of Port Hawkesbury. The Records Retention Schedule also
provides instructions as to the manner and time of the disposition of a record.
INTEGRITY AND AUTHENTICITY MAINTAINED
7.
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
8.
The Designated Officer is authorized to amend the Manual.
DISPOSAL BY DESIGNATED OFFICER
9.
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. A sample records destruction approval form is included in Appendix B
- Forms and Samples to the Manual;
(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;
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Town of Port Hawkesbury
Records Management Policy
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(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 record series title, date range
and date of destruction.
10.
Records that are required by any enactment to be kept, and all minutes, by-laws,
policies and resolutions of Council shall not be destroyed.
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Town of Port Hawkesbury
Records Management Policy
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Town of Port Hawkesbury
Records Management Policy
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Town of Port Hawkesbury
Records Management Policy
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CAO's Annotation for Official Policy Book
Policy Review Notification:
May 16, 2016
Policy Review Date:
June 7, 2016
Approved by Council:
September 6, 2016
I certify this to be a true copy of the Records Management Policy as adopted by the Town Council
of Port Hawkesbury at a Public Meeting, September 6, 2016.
_______________________________________________________________
Maris Freimanis, P. Eng.
Chief Administrative Officer