Public School District Schedule
Lexington/Fayette Urban County Government Schedule
Local Government General Records Schedule
Public Safety -Law Enforcement
The State Archives and Records Commission met December 12, 2002, in the
Board Room, Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives (KDLA).
Members present: James A. Nelson, Chairman; Paul F. Coates, representing Citizens-at-Large; Dr. William J. Morison, representing regional colleges and universities; Dr. Jack D. Ellis, representing Citizens-at-Large; and Lynne Hollingsworth, representing the Kentucky Historical Society.
Representatives present: Louis DeLuca, representing Dr. Marlene M. Helm, Secretary, Education, Arts and Humanities Cabinet; Amye Bensenhaver, representing A. B. Chandler, III, Attorney General; Charles Robb, representing Aldona K. Valicenti, Chief Information Officer, Governor's Office for Technology; Leslie Smith, representing Robert Sherman, Director, Legislative Research Commission; and Brian Lykins, representing Ed Hatchett, Auditor of Public Accounts.
Members not present or represented: Shelia E. Heflin, representing the Kentucky Library Association; Dr. Linda E. Johnson, representing Citizens-at-Large; Joseph E. Lambert, Chief Justice, Supreme Court; Dr. Thomas D. Clark, representing the University of Kentucky; and Mary Lassiter, Acting State Budget Director, Governor's Office for Policy and Management.
Public Records Division staff present: Richard N. Belding, Director, Public Records Division; Diana Moses, Manager, State Records Branch; Jerry Carlton, Manager, Local Records Branch; Barbara Teague, Manager, Archival Services Branch; Glen McAninch, Manager, Technology Analysis and Support Branch; Tim McIntosh, Regional Administrator; Trace Kirkwood, Regional Administrator; Mark Myers, Resource Management Analyst; and B. J. Webster, Administrative Secretary.
Guests present: No guests were present.
Nelson called for introductions by those present.
Dr. Ellis made a motion to accept the minutes of the previous Commission meeting, seconded by Dr. Morison. The vote by members and representatives present to accept the minutes of the previous Commission meeting was unanimous.
Jerry Carlton introduced Tim McIntosh and Trace Kirkwood, who recently joined the staff of the Local Records Branch. McIntosh, former supervisor of the State Records Center, is the regional administrator for the Eastern area of the state. Kirkwood, who previously worked in the Department as a Thomas D. Clark Intern, now serves as the regional administrator for the Western area.
NEW OR REVISED RECORDS RETENTION SCHEDULES
Public School District Schedule
Jerry Carlton was the regional administrator working on this schedule. Approximately 21 series were added to the schedule, covering numbers L5232 to L5252. In addition, changes were made to the following series: L2001, Special Education Due Process Student Folder; L2002, Application for Federal Assistance for the Education of Handicapped Children; and L2003, Quarterly Summary Report - Education for the Handicapped.
The schedule was revised in its entirety in 1998 and is organized into two main sections, Central Office and Schools, with divisions listed thereunder. Carlton said that another revision of the schedule is underway to make it more comprehensive and easier to use. The new revision should be ready for submission at the March 2003 meeting of the Commission.
Bensenhaver asked that the term "information" in the title notes for L5251, Open Records Request for Inspection/Disposition Record, and L5252, Open Records Register, be changed to "records." Bensenhaver said that the use of the term "information" could potentially mislead the public, since what is requested under the Open Records Law is access to specific public records.
Dr. Morison made a motion to adopt the changes to the schedule, seconded by Dr. Ellis. The vote by members and representatives present to adopt the schedule was unanimous.
Carlton was the regional administrator working on this schedule change. The change was to add series L5255, Board of Assessment Appeals File.
After a brief explanation by Carlton, Mr. Coates made a motion to adopt the
schedule change, seconded by Dr. Morison. The vote by members and
representatives present to adopt the schedule change was unanimous.
As the changes were the same, the next two schedules for reviewed as a group.
Lexington/Fayette Urban County Government Schedule
Carlton was the regional administrator working on this schedule change. The change was to add series L5253, Warning Notice, and L5254, Search Record, to the schedule. The warning notice documents actions taken by officers during a motorist stop for any reason. The search record documents the events surrounding any search, whether it is with a warrant or not.
Bensenhaver raised the issue of profiling and that the one-year retention wouldn't allow sufficient time to establish a pattern. In the case of L5254, Coates asked about the reference in the title note that the record "may become part of the case file, if action is taken." Carlton explained that a case file may not be officially opened, even though a search warrant was issued.
Morison asked that if it should appear, after further reflection, that perhaps there should be a longer retention period for the records to accommodate retrospective studies, could there be an adjustment to the retention period? The answer was that the retention could be adjusted. Morison said that he shared Bensenhaver's concerns. Morison said he believed that there had been studies by civil liberties groups, the press, state and federal agencies, and others related to the issue of profiling.
A motion to approve the schedule changes was made by Dr. Morison, with the understanding that the retention could be reevaluated at a later date, if it became necessary to extend the period. The motion was seconded by Coates. Brian Lykins, representing the State Auditor's Office, believed that the one-year retention period being proposed would not provide sufficient time to gather enough information with which to make a judgment about whether profiling had occurred.
Based on the discussion, Morison withdrew his motion. Nelson said that the changes to this schedule and the one that follows would be tabled until the March meeting of the Commission, to allow time to gather more information. All members and representatives present agreed.
Local Government General Records Schedule - Public Safety - Law Enforcement
Carlton was the regional administrator working on this change. The change was to add series L5291, Warning Notice, and L5292, Search Record to the schedule.
As noted above, the changes to this schedule were tabled until the March meeting of the Commission.
Next on the agenda was Other Business. Nelson updated the Commission members on the current budget situation. Nelson said that the Department had submitted a budget reduction plan, which includes additional reductions in Local Records grant funds, among other thing. The Department also was asked to re-justify capital construction projects, including the current contract for Dr. Greg Hunter, who was hired to provide consultation in the planning for the Document Management Digitization System (DMDS). DeLuca said that the legislature would be meeting in February and that it could be as late as March before a decision regarding the budget was reached and its impact on agencies known.
Nelson then turned the meeting over to Belding to update the Commission members on three major areas: Electronic Mail, the Department's archival storage situation and the Document Management Digitization System. After adjournment, Commission members were invited to tour the DMDS facilities.
Belding referred to drafts of the Enterprise Standard: 4060 Recordkeeping - Electronic Mail and the Guidelines for Managing E-mail in Kentucky State Government, which each member received prior to the meeting, for their comment and review. The drafts are companion documents developed by the Electronic Records Working Group (ERWG). ERWG is an informal joint interagency body with representatives from the Department, the Governor's Office for Technology, the Attorney General's Office and the Office of the Auditor of Public Accounts, which was formed during the spring of 2002 to help develop policy recommendations or alternatives for issues involving the intersection of technology and records management. Belding said that the current plan was to submit the drafts of the documents to the Architecture and Standards Committee at its next meeting.
Robb said that the review of the drafts would have to go through GOT's E-mail Management Team, which maintains e-mail servers for most of the Executive Branch agencies, for review. In response to a question from Belding, Robb said that the standards that are adopted are more than policy statements. The expectation is that they will be acted upon or responded to by agencies. According to Robb, the volume of e-mail has moved from 50 to 60 million a month to 90 million in the past couple of months. There are definite issues related to the storage of e-mail, including legal vulnerability, which need to be addressed. GOT would be offering "secure mail" as an enhancement to regular e-mail so that mail transported on the network would be encrypted, which would make it secure in that path. GOT is concerned that agencies will use "secure mail" for all mail, which would not be appropriate. In response to a question from Coates, Robb said that e-mail is not the same as a telephone conversation.
Belding said that the Guidelines, which Mark Myers of the Technology Analysis and Support Branch, had a role in creating, provides practical information state agencies should follow to properly manage e-mail as a public record, while the Standard clarifies agency responsibilities. Myers said that the Guidelines will be appended to the Standard, with the Guidelines providing more detailed information to agencies about how to manage e-mail on a day-to-day basis, using approved records retention schedules. Since the Standard makes specific mention of Microsoft Outlook as the approved e-mail product, the Guidelines do as well. Myers said that similar guidelines will be developed for state and local agencies that do not use Microsoft Outlook. ERWG is attempting to come up with strategies to manage the huge volume of e-mail being experienced by GOT, as well as preserving the e-mail records that are appropriate for long term retention. The majority of e-mail does not need to be preserved and can be deleted after a time, based on current retention schedules. The Guidelines were created after a thorough evaluation of documents developed by other governmental archival institutions at the state and national level.
Myers said that staff was looking at ways to most effectively implement the General Schedule for Electronic and Related Records, which was approved by the Commission in June 2002. The plan is to implement it on a very limited basis initially, to test its effectiveness. It is anticipated that GOT would be the first pilot agency to implement the schedule, as it would be more likely to have the variety of electronic records and the technical expertise to use it. The intent is to bring the information technology side, which creates the records, together with the records management side, which is responsible for making ultimate disposition of the records.
Another approach, Myers said, was the implementation of the "triage" approach to appraisal of electronic systems. It attempts to identify long term, or permanent, electronic records created by agencies that would either need to be retained by them, or accessioned into the State Archives. One of the first agencies that staff has considered working with is the Department of Environmental Protection, within the Cabinet for Natural Resources and Environmental Protection. The Department is currently in the process of revising its schedule, which provides an excellent opportunity to evaluate its electronic systems, many of which have long term value. The "triage" approach was developed in coordination with Dr. Greg Hunter, consultant to the Department. Myers also said that the next project would be to develop guidelines for agencies to assist them in the management of electronic records. Myers recently gave a presentation at the County Clerk's Conference on basic electronic records management, which was very well received. More presentations of this type are planned for local government agencies, as well as for state agencies.
Bensenhaver said that the e-mail guidelines, when adopted, would be very
useful in responding to open records requests.
Belding then gave an update on the storage situation that the State Archives is currently experiencing. There is in excess of 90,000 cubic feet of records housed in the Archives.
The storage situation is extremely acute at this point. Although there are possible ways of improving the current situation, it is inevitable that the Archives will reach a point where there is no more capacity, Belding said. Belding shared with the Commission members some of the activities staff has been involved in to temporarily alleviate the storage situation. Examples include:
Belding said that it is hoped that, as the DMDS capacity comes more fully on line, it will have an impact on the storage of records in the Archives. Currently, DMDS is operating on a cost recovery, fee for service basis. The Department is going to be faced with some very significant fiscal challenges in extending the reach of DMDS to areas that relate almost exclusively to improving the archival management of the Department's holdings, Belding said. Although there will be progress, it will not be at the same rate as originally budgeted for in the planning for DMDS.
Belding informed the Commission members that one of the specific impacts identified as a result of the state budget situation, and which was addressed in the Governor's Executive Order, was that expansion of existing leases would not be authorized. The Records Center operation has regularly expanded its lease in response to the needs of the more than 60 agencies that use the Center for the storage of records. Whether exceptions would be allowed under the current situation remains to be seen, Belding said.
There being no further business, Nelson adjourned the meeting at 11:25 a.m. A tour of the area that houses the DMDS equipment followed.
Page last revised on March 18, 2003
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