HomeMy WebLinkAboutFCS-11-154 - Records Retention By-lawREPORT TO:Finance and Corporate Services Committee
DATE OF MEETING:
August 15, 2011
SUBMITTED BY: Randy Gosse, Director, Legislated Services and City Clerk
PREPARED BY:
Christine Tarling, Manager, Corporate Records & Archives
Services
WARD(S) INVOLVED:
None
DATE OF REPORT:
July 21, 2011
REPORT NO.: FCS-11-154
SUBJECT:
Records Retention By-Law
RECOMMENDATION:
That the Records Retention By-law 2005-155 (being a by-law to establish retention
periods and disposition methods for records of the municipality) be repealed; and
further,
That the Records Retention By-Law attached to Finance and Corporate Services
Department report FCS-11-154, dated July 21, 2011, be approved.
BACKGROUND:
Section 255 (3) of the Ontario Municipal Act authorizes a municipality to establish retention
periods during which the records of the municipality and local boards of the municipality must be
retained and preserved subject to the approval of the municipal auditor. The Act no longer
requires City Council to pass a by-law establishing retention periods and disposition methods for
all corporate records, although having a by-law does provide more authority to the retention
schedule. The By-Law is also an important policy statement on record-keeping requirements
which assists with ensuring records are managed and accessible in accordance with the
Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act as well as other legislation that
governs various facets of record-keeping throughout the City. The existing Records Retention
By-law 2005-155 was passed on August 29, 2005 and came into effect on August 31, 2005.
REPORT:
The Retention By-law has not been amended since 2005 and given the number and nature of the
amendments required, it is appropriate to repeal By-Law 2005-155 and replace it with the attached.
The changes to the by-law generally fall into one of three major categories: general housekeeping
amendments primarily resulting from the organizational redesign; revisions relating to procedural
changes for record-keeping here at the City (e.g., departing employees, third-party service
providers, hold orders, etc.); and those changes which address emerging records management
and privacy issues (e.g., transborder data flow, software as a service, social media, etc.).
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All changes to the by-law have been reviewed and approved by the Records Retention Committee
which consists of the Deputy CAO of Finance and Corporate Services and City Treasurer,the
City Clerkand Director of Legislated Services, the City Solicitor and Director of Legal Services,
the Manager of Corporate Records and Archives Services, and the Corporate Records Analyst
as well as the City Auditor.
ALIGNMENT WITH CITY OF KITCHENER STRATEGIC PLAN:
Strategic Plan Foundation – Efficient and Effective Government
Information Technology – Develop an enabled and knowledgeable workforce
Customer Service – Ensure service is delivered in an effective and cost efficient manner;
Provide information to support management decision making
Public Sector Leadership – Ensure accountability and transparency in all public processes
The new retention by-law helps to enable efficient and effective government and the pillars that
support it by ensuring that records are retained and destroyed only in accordance with the
Records Retention Schedule. The by-law sets out the rules for managing records according to
records management best practices and other legislation that governs records-keeping.
Furthermore, the by-law helps to ensure that the City remains in possession of its corporate
records in order to facilitate its operational needs and to preserve its history.
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS:
N/A
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT:
Inform – The new by-law will be available to the public via the City’s internet site.
CONCLUSION:
The Retention By-Law provides the critical foundation for the corporate records and information
management program here at the City. As a policy instrument, it ensures that council, City staff
and others performing work on behalf of the City understand what is required of them to ensure
that the City’s records are managed and protected appropriately.
ACKNOWLEDGED BY:
Dan Chapman, Deputy CAO, Finance and Corporate Services
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BY-LAW NUMBER 2011-
OF THE
CORPORATION OF THE CITY OF KITCHENER
(Being a by-law to establish retention periods
and disposition methods for records of the municipality)
WHEREAS the Council of the municipality has deemed it expedient to pass a
by-law to establish retention periods during which the records of the municipality must be
retained and the subsequent disposition method for the records.
AND WHEREAS the municipality regularly reviewsall records of information
however recorded, whether in printed form, on film, by electronic means or otherwise, and
includes correspondence, a memorandum, a book, a plan, a map, a drawing, a diagram, a
pictorial or graphic work, a photograph, a film, a microfilm, a sound recording, a video tape, a
machine readable record, any other documentary material, regardless of physical form or
characteristics, and any copy thereof. The Records Retention Committee conducts an
ongoingreview ofall records of the City of Kitchener regardless of media format.
NOW THEREFORE the Council of The Corporation of the City of Kitchener
hereby enacts as follows:
1. For the purpose of this By-law:
(a) “active dissemination” means proactively providing access to records and information
without requiring a formal request under the Municipal Freedom of Information and
Protection of Privacy Act (e.g., posting minutes on the City’s website, issuing media
releases, etc.);
(b) "active retention" means the period of time during which records are required constantly
for current use by a department in conducting its business and are retained in office/work
areas prior to transfer to the Corporate Records Centre for storage or otherdisposition;
(c) “Corporate Archives” means the physical location designated by the Manager of
Corporate Records and Archives Services for the storage of records whose disposition
method is deemed by Corporate Records and Archives Servicesto bearchives, archives
- sample or archives - weed;
(d) "Corporate Records Centre" means a centralized area for housing and servicing inactive
records whose reference rate does not warrant their retention in expensive office space or
equipment;
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(e) "disposition method" means the form of disposition of a record following the expiration of
the total retention period. Methods of disposition are identified by use of the following
words, said method being defined opposite thereto:
Archives means permanent preservation of a record in the Corporate
Archives because it:
1) provides evidence of the development, structure and life span
of municipal government and administration in Kitchener prior to
and since incorporation as a City in 1912 and/or;
2) contains records of boards, agencies and other entities (e.g.
Board of Park Management) which previously fulfilled functions
now performed by the municipality.
Most archival records are retained intact. However, at the
recommendation of Corporate Records and Archives Services,
certain archival series will be designated for disposition as
follows:
Archives – sample whereby a representative sample of the
records in a series are retained and all others are destroyed by
confidential destruction
Archives – weed whereby superfluous documents (e.g.
duplicates) are removed from the series and destroyed by
confidential destructionso that the remainder of the series may
be permanently preserved
Destroy means destruction of a record without any copy being retained
in any media format or location, said disposition shall be by
confidential destructionfor paper recordsand magnetic media,
and bypurging for electronic records. All records shall be
destroyed by and/or in conjunction with Corporate Records and
Archives Services;
Digitize and means the paper or micrographic record is converted to a
archive scanned/digitized image and the paper or the microfilm are
stored in the Corporate Archives;
Digitize and retain means the paper or micrographic record is converted to a
scanned/digitized image and the paper or the microfilm is
retained permanently;
Digitize and destroy means the paper or micrographic record is converted to a
scanned/digitized image and the paper or the microfilm is
destroyedand;
Microfilm and archive means the paper records are microfilmed, and both the paper
and the microfilm are stored in the Corporate Archives;
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Microfilm and retain means the paper records are microfilmed, and both the
microfilm and paper are retained permanently;
Microfilm and destroy means the paper records are microfilmed, the microfilm is
retained and the paper is destroyed;
Other means any other type of disposition not specifically identified in
this by-law;
Print to paper means the electronic record is printed to a paper copy either as
the official copy or as a back-up copy to the electronic record
which is the official copy;
Retain means the record series is permanently retained because the
series has permanent administrative, fiscal and/or legal
value(s);
Transfer means records are transferred to another government body,
institution or organization outside of the City of Kitchener
including returned to originator or submitted to another
government body;
(f) "duplicate record" means a copy of the official record and is usually retained for a shorter
period of time for convenience of reference. All duplicate records are indicated in the
retention schedules by the use of the word "duplicate";
(g) “electronic record” is defined as a separate, discrete body of computer data (text files,
data files, or image files) that is maintained within a computer system, application or
database, or on removable media such as a “flash drive”,magnetic tape, disk or CD or
some other electronic storage device which data is logically related, serves a common
purpose or function, and can thus be considered as a separate unit. Electronic records
may take the form of either structured or unstructured data;
(h) "inactive retention" means the period of time, if any, during which records are required
sporadically or infrequently and are retained in the Corporate Records Centre or any other
secondary storage facility designated by the Manager of Corporate Records and Archives
Servicesfor the storage of records;
(i) "microform master" refers to the master or first-generation microform from which
duplicate or working microform copies are made. Microform masters are stored in the
Corporate Records and Archives Services area. Notwithstanding this definition there is
one exception, specifically record series number 826, for which there are no duplicate
microforms and it is listed in the Records Retention Schedule withCorporate Records
and Archives Services as the Office of Record;
(j) “microform duplicate” means the duplicate or second-generation and beyond microform
which is made from the microform master. Microform duplicates are used as working or
backup copies and are usually retained by the Office of Record;
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(k) "media type" means the physical media of the record as reflected in the Records
Retention Schedule, which shall be stated by use of the following symbols, and
abbreviations, which mean and stand for the words set opposite thereto:
ELE electronic record
MFD microform duplicate
MFM microform master
PAP paper
(l) “microform” is a generic term used to refer to all media types in a micrographics format
(e.g. computer-output-microfilm, microfiche, and microfilm);
(m) "non-records" include library and reference material; stocks of blank forms, manuals,
publications or advertising materials; corporate awards and other archival artifacts
covered under the Corporate Archives Policy and are not included in this by-law;
(n) “obsolete” is defined as a record series which is no longer in use or being created in any
format but still exists in the Corporation because the retention period has not expired for
the records;
(o) "office of record" means the department/division with designated responsibility for the
preservation of the City's official record;
(p) “official record” means a record which documents City of Kitchener business functions,
activities, decisions, opinions, policies, procedures, legal rights, etc. and is the record the
City will rely upon as proof or evidence of the performance of its functions in the regular
course of business. As such, all official records must be retained and disposed of in
accordance with the Records Retention Schedule;
(q) "originating work unit" means the unit which creates or receives the records and uses
them in their day to day operations;
(r) “primary function” means the main business function or the first hierarchical levelof the
classification scheme for the grouping of records;
(s) "record" means information in any format including but not limited tomicroform, printed,
video or electronic form, but does not include "non-records";
(t) "record series" means a group of records relating to a particular subject or function and
which is defined by the form, function and type of documents contained therein;
(u) "record series number (RSN)" means the unique number assigned to a record series;
(v) “records retention schedule” means the official list of the City’s records series by Primary
and SecondaryFunction with their accompanying record series number, title, description,
media format, retention period, disposition method and Office of Record which is the
authority for the retention and disposition of City records;
(w) "retention period" means the period of time for which records must be kept prior to
disposition. Retention periods shall be stated by use of the following symbols and
abbreviations which mean and stand for the words set opposite thereto:
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CM current month
st
CT Council term (i.e. the four year term of office commencing on the 1day of
December in a municipal election year); refers to the balance of the Council
Term in which the records were created
CU continuously updated (used for series without a defined cut-off date and to
which documents are continuously added)
CY current year (calculated on a calendar year basis from January 1 to
December 31st)
FY fiscal year (twelve month accounting term)
LU life of unit
M month
P permanent such that the record shall be preserved and never destroyed
PY program year
TERM retention for a variable length of time until the termination or expiration of a
defined activity or function such as termination of employment, project
completion or conclusion of an appeal process
VY vacation year (i.e. June 1st of one year until May 31st of the next year);
(x) “routine disclosure” means providing access to records and information in response to a
specific request but without requiring a formal request to be made under the Municipal
Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act;
(y) “secondary function” means the second hierarchical level of the classification scheme for
the grouping of records under which falls a record series for the purposes of applying the
Records Retention Schedule;
(z) “struck” is defined as a record series which is no longer in use or being created in any
format and no longer exists in the Corporation because the retention period has expired
for all the records;
(aa) “total retention" means the sum of the active and inactive retention periods;
(bb)
“transborder data flow of personal information” refers to the transference of computerized
domestic data (electronic information) containing personal information as defined within
theMunicipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (MFIPPA) outside
does not
the geographical borders of Canada to another country or jurisdiction. It
include
any data which does not contain personal information or data which is not
crossing any international border to a foreign jurisdiction (i.e., stays in Canada but
outside of Ontario);
(cc) “transitory record” means a temporary record or a record used in the creation of an
official record, which is not considered to be the official record of the City. Where a
transitory record is used to create the official record, it shall be deemed the official record
and retained until the official record is created. As such, transitory records do not need
to be retained and disposed of in accordance with the Records Retention Schedule;
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(dd) “vital record” contains information essential to the survival of the Corporation in the event
of a disruption in business and is necessary to continue operations, without delay, under
emergency conditions. It contains the information necessary to recreate the
Corporation’s legal and financial position and preserves its rights and those of its
employees, customers and residents. It is irreplaceable because it protects critical legal,
financial and operational functions.
Categories of vital records are as follows:
V1 Records and information essential for emergency operations.
V2 Records and information essential for immediate resumption and continuation of
business following a disruption.
V3 Records and information essential for corporate identity, legal and financial audit
purposes.
2. The retention and disposition method of all records of the Corporation of the City of
Kitchener shall be in accordance with the retention periods and disposition methods set
out in the Records Retention Schedule as maintained by Corporate Records and
Archives Services and as approved of by the Records Retention Committee.
3. For the purpose of reviewing and applying the retention periods set out inthe Records
Retention Schedule, all retention periods expressed by a number shall be deemed to be
in terms of "a number of years" unless otherwise stated.
4. Upon consultation with each department and the Manager of Corporate Recordsand
Archives Services, the Records Retention Committee shall approveretention periods for
allcorporaterecords. In the event of a dispute as to the appropriate retention period for
a record series, the Records Retention Committee shall submit their recommendation to
Council. The legislative/regulatory,administrative, fiscal, legal, and historical value of
each record series is considered in determining retention periods.
5. Records schedule amendment authorization forms shall be signed by the Deputy CAO
and Supervisor/Manager/Director of the respective division as authorized by the Deputy
CAO.
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6. Each department is responsible for those records in their care and custody andshall
refer any record series not listed in the Records Retention Schedule; any new record
series created after the enactment of this By-law; any required amendment to an existing
record series; any discontinued record series or the amalgamation of a record with
another series to the Manager of Corporate Records and Archives Services for analysis
and initial evaluation of retention and subsequent approval bythe Records Retention
Committee.
7. The Records Retention Committee shall consist of the Deputy CAO of Finance and
Corporate Services and City Treasurer,the City Clerkand Director of Legislated
Services, the City Solicitor and Director of Legal Servicesor their designate, the
Manager of Corporate Records and Archives Services, and the Corporate Records
Analyst. All decisions made by the Committee must be approved of by the City Auditor
who will attend all Records Retention Committee meetings.This Committee shall be
delegated byCouncil to approvethe appropriate retention periods and disposition
methods for all records of the Corporation of the City of Kitchener.
8. Except when there is a contract with the municipality for the provision of a service and
records are retained by the department or agencysupplying the service and therefore
viewed as records of the municipality, the provisions of this By-law do not apply to the
following:
(a) Councillors' constituency records, which are stored, organized and treated
separately from the City's records. This excludes administrative records defined as
those records whereby, regardless of media, a Councillor informs a staff member
of a problem or requests that some action be taken;
(b) records of associations that are considered to be non-profit organizations and/or
which operate at arms-length, separate from the City of Kitchener, including the
Staff Association, minor sports associations, neighbourhood associations (including
registration records except for those records held in the City of Kitchener CLASS
system), Kitchener-Waterloo Woodworking & Craft Centre, House of Friendship,
KW Counselling, and the Waterloo RegionSmall Business Centre;
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(c) organizations severed from the City's jurisdiction under Ontario Regulation 372/91
including Belmont Business Improvement Area Board of Management, Centre in
the Square Inc., Downtown Improvement Area Board of Management, Kitchener
Housing Inc.; and
(d) records of the Kitchener Public Library which is viewed as a separate institution
from the City of Kitchener under the Municipal Freedom of Information and
Protection of Privacy legislation.
9. Where a department or agency supplying the service to or on behalf of the City of
Kitchener retains the associated records for or on behalf of the City, the department or
agency will ensure that it retains those records in accordance with the City’s Records
Retention By-Law and Schedule and will dispose of said records only in accordance with
the City’s Authorized Destruction Process. Furthermore, the department and agency will
obtain approval from the Manager of Corporate Records and Archives Services before
granting access to any records in its possession to the public or anyone not requiring
access for the performance of their specific duties.
10. The Office of the City Clerk'is the Office of Record for the permanent retention of the
agendas and minutes of all Standing Committees and Special Committees of Council
notwithstanding that the administrative functions may be performed by staff from other
departments.
11. Records of an originating work unitmay be accessed onlyby staff of thatoriginating work
unit. Records may be accessed by other staff only upon written authorization from the
Manager/Director of the originating work unit. Access requests from the public shall be
addressed by departmental staff for records designated as eligible for active
dissemination or routine disclosure in accordance with Routine Disclosure and Active
Dissemination Guidelines, and in the case of formal requests under the Municipal
Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, by the City Clerk and Director of
Legislated Servicesor his/her designate. All requests for access to records stored in the
archives, whether received from staff or the public, shall be authorized by the Manager of
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Corporate Recordsand Archives Services, subject to any legislated or other approved
restrictions.
12. Requests for retention beyond the expiry of the retention period set out in the Records
Retention Schedule are designated as hold orders andshall be made in writing to the
Manager of Corporate Recordsand Archives Servicesby the department head or the
designated Supervisor/Manager/Director of the Office of Record for the record series
clearly indicating the reason for the hold order. With the exception of hold orders for
retention period review, the hold order does not change the retention period for the
record series but merely temporarily suspends the destruction of the relevant records in
the series. Once the matter is settled, these records will be destroyed as normal
In the case where the retention period is deemed to be
according to the schedule.
incorrect, the proposed new retention period shall be analyzed by the Corporate Records
Analyst and if approved by the Manager of Corporate Records and Archives Services,
shall be submitted to the Records Retention Committee for approval. For records
deemed to have archival value, the disposition of the record series shall be appropriately
amended and the records transferred to the Corporate Archives. The reasons for hold
orders are as follows:
a.) Legal/claims matter – The records in question are subject to litigation or claim or
pending litigation or claim and must be retained until the matter is settled including
any appeals.
b.) Audit – The records in question are subject to an audit or pending audit and must
be retained until the audit is completed.
c.) Investigation – The records in question are required for any type of investigation or
pending investigation and must be retained until the investigation is completed and
any necessary action is taken.
d.) MFIPPA request – The records in question are required for a request made under
the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act and must be
retained until the necessary copies are made to satisfy the request.
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e.) Retention period review – The records in question have been assigned the
incorrect retention period which needs to be reviewed and the records will be
destroyed in accordance with the new retention period if approved.
f.) Archives appraisal – The records in question have not yet been determined as
having archival value and must be reviewed.
13. Upon being satisfied that the period of retention for a record or record series has expired
and no reason exists for further retention, the department head or the designated
Supervisor/Manager/Director of the Office of Record for the recordshall authorize the
disposition in accordance with the disposition method prescribed in the Records
Retention Schedule and with the City’s Authorized Destruction Process. Any such
designation of disposal authority to the Supervisor/Manager/Director shall be
communicated in writing to the Manager of Corporate Records and Archives Services,
who will retain this information on file in order to verify compliance.
14. All systems, applications and databases of the City of Kitchener, whether operating on
servers at the City of Kitchener, being hosted by an external service provider (i.e.,
Software as a Service or SaaS), being hosted in the “cloud” including social media, or
some other software delivery model, must support retention requirements for the records
within that system in accordance with the Records Retention Schedule.
15.
Records containing personal information must be managed and protected in accordance
with the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act; and
furthermore, must not be collected, managed, processed and/or stored beyond the
geographical borders of Canada to another foreign jurisdiction (a.k.a. “transborder data
flow”). The Department responsible for such records shall ensure individuals are made
aware if their personal information will be collected, managed, processed and/or stored
by a third-party service provider.
16.All corporate records of the City of Kitchener are owned by the City of Kitchener and
are not the personal possession of any employee or individual working for or
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representing the City.As such, all corporate records shall remain in the control and
custody of the Office of Record or originating business unit upon the transfer of an
employee to another department/division/section within the City of Kitchener, or upon
the departure of the employee from the City of Kitchener regardless of circumstances.
For this purpose, the City’s Records Management Guidelines for Departing
Employees shall prevail.
17. All employees of the City of Kitchener are required to create records according to the
business needs and processes in which they are involved in order to adequately
document their business activities or functions. All records must have integrity and be
authentic, reliable, useable, accurate, adequate, complete and be appropriately stored,
maintained and accessible for the entire period of time required by the Records
Retention Schedule.
18. The City Auditor has reviewed and approved this by-law in anticipation of it being
presented to Council.
19. By-law Number 2005-155 of The Corporation of the City of Kitchener is hereby repealed.
20. This By-law comes into effect on the date passed by Council..
PASSED at the Council Chambers in the City of Kitchener this day of , A.D.
2011.
____________________________
Mayor
____________________________
City Clerk
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