ISSUED FOR THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT RECORDS HARRISBURG

1 ISSUED FOR THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT RECORDS COMMITTEE BY THE PENNSYLVANIA HISTORICAL AND MUSEUM COMMISSION BUREAU OF THE PENNSYLVANIA STATE ARCHIVES HARRISBURG APPROVED DECEMBER 16, 2008 (as amended March 28, 2019) RETENTION AND DISPOSITION SCHEDULE FOR RECORDS OF PENNSYLVANIA MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENTS SECTION 1: PROCEDURES AND STANDARDS General Provisions and Procedures for the Destruction or Transfer of Municipal RECORDS Audit Requirements, Federal and State Statutes and Administrative Regulations Policy and Guidelines for the management of Electronic RECORDS Including Electronic Mail (email) Systems Policy Regarding the Form of Permanent Recordation for Municipalities Standards for Microfilming Municipal RECORDS SECTION 2.

2 RECORDS RETENTION AND DISPOSITION SCHEDULES Administrative and Legal R ecords (AL) Emergency S ervices R ecords (ES) Financial and Purchasing RECORDS (FN) Fire RECORDS (FR) Information Technology (IT) Library RECORDS (LY) Parks and Recreation RECORDS (PR) Payroll RECORDS (PL) Personnel RECORDS (PS) Planning and Zoning/Code Enforcement RECORDS (PZ) Police RECORDS (PO) Public Health RECORDS (PH) Public Works/Engineering RECORDS (PW) Tax Collection and Assessment RECORDS (TA) Waste management and Sewage Disposal RECORDS (WM) Water Quality, Supply and Distribution RECORDS (WQ) SECTION 3.

3 APPENDICES Appendix RECORDS Act Appendix of Resolution Indicating Intent to follow Municipal RECORDS Schedule Appendix of Disposition Resolution for Destruction of Specific RECORDS Appendix RECORDS Disposal Certification Request Form Appendix PDF/A Notification for Permanent Municipal RECORDS Appendix Using the Index, Index to Municipal RECORDS 04/2019 TABLE OF CONTENTS - 1 04/2019 GENERAL PROVISIONS 1 RETENTION AND DISPOSITION SCHEDULE FOR RECORDS OF PENNSYLVANIA MUNICIPALITIES GENERAL PROVISIONS DEFINITIONS The following words and terms, when used in this chapter, shall have the following meanings: ACT-The Municipal RECORDS Act of January 18, 1968 ( 961, No.)

4 428). (See Appendix A) COMMISSION - The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. COMMITTEE - The LOCAL GOVERNMENT RECORDS Committee (LGRC) STATE ARCHIVES - The Commission's Bureau of the Pennsylvania State Archives. PURPOSE This manual is ISSUED to notify municipal officials in cities of the third class, boroughs, incorporated towns, townships of the first and second classes, including any municipal corporations as described in this paragraph which have adopted a home rule charter, and any municipal authority created by any of these municipalities of the opportunity to legally dispose of RECORDS in accordance with the provisions of the RECORDS Retention and Disposition Schedule approved by the LOCAL GOVERNMENT RECORDS Committee.

5 Municipalities and LOCAL governments are encouraged to consult their attorney before implementing any policy. THE PROGRAM An effective RECORDS management program can reduce storage and retrieval costs and increase productivity. Recognition of the need for a workable LOCAL RECORDS management program in Pennsylvania led to the passage of the Municipal RECORDS Act of 1968, and the creation of the Commonwealth's LOCAL GOVERNMENT RECORDS Committee. The Committee's primary responsibility is to develop RECORDS retention and disposition schedules for each municipal office.

6 Municipal officers are authorized by the Municipal RECORDS Act to dispose of RECORDS in accordance with schedules and guidelines that have been approved by the Committee. It is to be understood that the schedules authorize and recommend, but do not require the disposal of RECORDS after the expiration of approved retention periods. Under the Municipal RECORDS Act, the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission is designated as the agency responsible for administering the program of the LOCAL GOVERNMENT RECORDS Committee. The Commission works through its Bureau of the Pennsylvania State Archives in carrying out these RECORDS functions.

7 The Archives seek and utilize the assistance of state and municipal officials and others knowledgeable in this area to guide it in setting standards for the retention and disposition of municipal RECORDS . It is believed that the 04/2019 GENERAL PROVISIONS 1 establishment of RECORDS disposition procedures for the use of municipal officials will help ensure the preservation of RECORDS of permanent value and encourage the destruction of non-essential RECORDS when appropriate. MUNICIPAL RECORDS The Municipal RECORDS Act defines "public RECORDS " as "any papers, books, maps, photographs or other documentary materials, regardless of physical form or characteristics, made or received by an entity under law or in connection with the exercise of its powers and the discharge of its duties.

8 " Retention periods listed on the Municipal RECORDS Schedule apply to information in all forms and formats. The fact that information is created and stored electronically or on microfilm rather than on paper has no bearing on its retention status. All information included under the definition of a municipal record may be disposed of in accordance with the Municipal RECORDS Act and disposition procedures approved by the LOCAL GOVERNMENT RECORDS Committee. Historically valuable public RECORDS are public property and should remain in public custody.

9 Such RECORDS should be maintained in a municipally operated or contracted archives/ RECORDS center or servers. If a municipality cannot adequately care for its own historical RECORDS , provisions may be made to transfer select inactive RECORDS of historical value to the State Archives in accordance with the State Administrative Code. RECORDS are scheduled for permanent retention by municipal governments, either in the paper, electronic or microfilm form, if they have continuing administrative and legal value. Such RECORDS are also historically valuable.

10 However, the fact that RECORDS are not scheduled for permanent retention does not necessarily mean they do not have any historical value or that the State Archives would not be interested in accessioning some of these RECORDS . For example, since relatively few RECORDS from the 19th century and before have survived to the present, some RECORDS are historically valuable merely because of their age. Questions regarding the possible historical value of LOCAL public RECORDS should be referred to the Commission's Bureau of the Pennsylvania State Archives.