Chapter 2.08
COUNTY CLERK
Sections:
2.08.020 County clerk’s responsibilities.
2.08.030 Historical records commission.
2.08.040 Public records custody and control.
2.08.050 Disposal of county records.
2.08.060 Records retention and disposition schedules.
2.08.010 Definitions.
Unless the context otherwise requires, the words that are used in this chapter shall have the meanings that are ascribed to them in this section:
“Disposition” means the final action that has been recommended for a record by the records retention that has been approved for the office that produces or generates the record.
“Historical or archival records” means the long-term value remaining in a record in which the administrative, fiscal or legal value may have expired. This is determined by evidential, informational, or intrinsic value.
“Office” means any office, department, board, commission, committee, agency or any other division of the county.
“Public record” means any paper, correspondence, form, book, photograph, file, sound recording, map, drawing or other document regardless of its physical form or characteristics, that has been made by any office or official or received by it in connection with the transaction of public business, which is required to be retained by the California Public Records Act.
“Records center” means an area for housing inactive or semi-active records which do not receive sufficient use to warrant their retention in the office in which they were initially kept. Interim storage also refers to the records center.
“Records retention schedule” means an itemized list of records series with the corresponding time periods for which they must be kept, including the location and final disposition thereof.
“Records series” means documents, volumes or folders that are arranged under a single filing system or are kept together as a unit because they relate to a particular subject, result from the same activity, or have a particular form.
“Vital records” means those records that would be essential for the reconstruction of the function and operation of a department in order for it to conduct business following a disaster. (Ord. 701 § 1 (part), 2012)
2.08.020 County clerk’s responsibilities.
The county clerk has been designated as the county records manager. The county clerk will be responsible for developing and implementing a records management program for the county. In that capacity, the county clerk shall:
A. Establish guidelines and procedures for making an inventory of and retaining public records of the county in accordance with approved records retention schedules.
B. Provide general guidance and assistance to county personnel in implementing each department’s records retention schedules.
C. Establish and manage a records center for storing inactive public records of the county, pending their disposition in accordance with approved records retention schedules. The county clerk shall maintain control over the records center ensuring that:
1. Unauthorized persons are not allowed into the interim records center.
2. No new records are to be placed into the records storage center unless they are covered by an approved retention schedule, are properly boxed in the approved type of record box (dimensions ten inches by twelve inches by fifteen inches), and the box is numbered and has been entered into the storage center list.
D. Establish a program for the protection of historical, archival and vital records that are essential to the continuation or establishment of governmental operations in the event of a natural or other disaster.
E. Ensure that the approved records retention schedules are adhered to by all county offices and that records to be destroyed each year are destroyed routinely on schedule, and records identified as archival are forwarded to the county archives. (Ord. 701 § 1 (part), 2012)
2.08.030 Historical records commission.
A. Pursuant to Government Code Section 26490, an historical records commission was established by the board of supervisors, on October 2, 1984, composed of the county clerk or designate, the county librarian or designate, the county museum director or designate, and two additional members for a total of five members.
B. The historical records commission was established to foster and promote the preservation of historical records for the county. The commission will review, approve or modify all records retention schedules before they are submitted for approval. The commission will provide general guidance and assistance with respect to improvements of the records management process. (Ord. 701 § 1 (part), 2012)
2.08.040 Public records custody and control.
A. The right to custody and control of the records that have been stored in the records center or the vault shall remain with the county official whose department originated the records.
B. The control of the records that have been transferred to county archives shall remain with the county archives for any purpose it determines to be in the public interest. (Ord. 701 § 1 (part), 2012)
2.08.050 Disposal of county records.
A. County records shall be disposed of only in accordance with the records retention and disposition schedules approved by the board of supervisors.
B. Records scheduled to be destroyed shall be disposed of by the method determined by the county office on the records retention and disposition schedules: recycling, shredding, burning or trash disposal. Records destroyed, per the approved records retention and disposition schedules, shall be listed in the records destruction report (RM-1) or in the authorization for destruction of records in interim storage (RM-5) and such report shall be maintained by the county clerk/records manager with a copy retained by the appropriate department or office.
C. The disposition of judicial records of the Alpine County superior court shall be governed by the retention schedules adopted by the court and as set forth by the state of California Administrative Office of the Courts, if such is in place. (Ord. 701 § 1 (part), 2012)
2.08.060 Records retention and disposition schedules.
The general records retention and disposition schedule of Alpine County shall be adopted by resolution of the board of supervisors, which may be amended from time to time, if needed. (Ord. 701 § 1 (part), 2012)