Governing Policy: Electronic Communications Policy

Policy Type: Enterprise; Check with the Departmental Policy Coordinator for procedures specific to each department.

Applies To: City Council Departments

Department Approval: City Clerk's Office

Effective Date: September 10, 2005

Keywords: Email, records, retention, record of value

Procedure

Users shall appropriately classify email transactions. If they are determined to be a record of value, users shall adhere to the appropriate records retention requirement.

Identifying An Email Message As A Record Of Value

1. The user (sender/recipient) determines the nature and content of the message sent via e-mail, and whether the message is a record of value.
2. The user assigns the record to the proper record series. For example, messages that contain draft budget projections for a particular division may be categorized as budget work papers.
3. The user consults with their department records management coordinator about retention requirements for specific documents.
4. The user saves the message in a word processing or paper file and not within the e-mail system. The user must save the context with the message (from, sent date, to, subject)
5. The user destroys the message according to the City’s records retention policies.

Roles & Responsibilities

• Users are responsible for identify and classifying email transactions and meeting the appropriate retention requirements.
• Supervisors and managers are responsible for educating staff about records retention guidelines and procedures.