STATE ARCHIVES AND RECORDS COMMISSION September 2004 Minutes

STATE ARCHIVES AND RECORDS COMMISSION
Minutes of the Quarterly Meeting
September 9, 2004
Department for Libraries and Archives

Environmental and Public Protection Cabinet

The State Archives and Records Commission met at 10:00 a.m., Thursday, September 9, 2004, in the Board Room, Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives (KDLA), 300 Coffee Tree Road, Frankfort, Kentucky.

Members present: James A. Nelson, Chairman; Dr. William J. Morison, representing regional colleges and universities; Sandra L. McAninch, representing the Kentucky Library Association; Dr. Jack D. Ellis, representing Citizens-at-Large; James E. Horner, representing Citizens-at-Large; and Paul F. Coates, representing Citizens-at-Large.

Representatives present: Thelma Whiteside, representing Virginia G. Fox, Secretary, Education Cabinet; Amye Bensenhaver, representing Gregory D. Stumbo, Attorney General; Brian Lykins, representing Crit Luallen, Auditor of Public Accounts; Brandon Haynes, representing Joseph E. Lambert, Chief Justice, Supreme Court; Geoff Pinkerton, representing Brad Cowgill, State Budget Director, Governor’s Office of Policy and Management; and Leslie Smith, representing Robert Sherman, Director, Legislative Research Commission.

Members not present or represented: Dr. Thomas D. Clark, representing the University of Kentucky; Sue Carole Perry, representing local governments; Michael Inman, Commissioner of Technology, Commonwealth Office of Technology; Lynn Hollingsworth, representing Citizens-at-Large; and James F. Kastner, representing the Kentucky Historical Society.

Public Records Division staff present: Richard N. Belding, Director, Public Records Division; Diana Moses, Manager, State Records Branch; Jerry Carlton, Manager, Local Records Branch; Glen McAninch, Manager, Technology Analysis and Support Branch; Mark Myers, Resource Management Analyst; Jim Cundy, Regional Administrator; and Tim McIntosh, Regional Administrator.

Dr. Ellis made a motion to accept the minutes of the previous Commission meeting, seconded by Mr. Horner. The vote by members and representatives present was unanimous.

Environmental and Public Protection Cabinet – Office of Administrative Hearings

Diana Moses was the records analyst working on this new schedule. The series being changed is 03229, Administrative Hearing Case File, from permanent to five years. The series being deleted from the schedule are 03231, Cabinet Legal Proceedings in Other Forums – Air, Water, Waste; 03232, Card Index; and 03233, Cabinet Legal Proceedings in Other Forums – Surface Mining.

The Office of Administrative Hearings is responsible for conducting all hearings and conferences, preparing reports and recommendations for the Secretary’s consideration, and ensuring that all hearings and conferences are held in an effective and judicious manner.

Moses explained that she had been working with staff in the Office of Administrative Hearings for several months to bring about a change in the retention of the hearings files, from permanent to five years, which is in keeping with other similar files, including those created by the Attorney General’s Office. Moses said that there are more than 1,000 cubic feet of the files currently stored in the Archives Center. As hearings files are not typically retained permanently and as space continues to be a critical issue for the Archives, the agency agreed to a reduction in their retention to five years. Moses said that in anticipation of a change in retention, approximately 200 cubic feet of the files were moved to the State Records Center and that for the past year or so, the agency had been transferring more current files to the Records Center, again in anticipation of the reduction in the retention period.

Moses expressed her appreciation to the staff in the Office for their work to remove original administrative orders from the files that would be destroyed, based on a change in their retention. Administrative orders are a permanent record that would need to be retained either by the agency or transferred to the State Archives. Two Administrative Hearings staff worked for 17 work days to remove the orders from approximately 900 cubic feet of records, which Moses said was a remarkable amount of work to be accomplished in such a short period of time.

Nelson suggested that a letter be sent from the Commission to the Executive Director of the Administrative Hearings Office to express its appreciation for the work of the staff.

Dr. Morison made a motion to adopt the schedule, seconded by Ms. McAninch. The vote by members and representatives present was unanimous.

Carlton was the regional administrator working on this new schedule. The schedules under consideration are the Department of Administrative Services, which includes of the Division of Community Development (series L5625 to L5627), the Purchase of Development Rights Program (series L5628 to L5631), the Tenant Services and Housing Counseling Office (series L5632 to L5633), and the Division of Human Resources (series L5648 to L5668); the Department of Social Services, which includes the Mayor’s Training Center (series L5634); Citizen’s Advocate Office (series L5635 to L5636); Public Safety, which includes Enhanced 911 (series L5637 to L5638); the Council Office (series L5639 to L5642); and the Mayor’s Office (series L5643 to L5646). The six schedules were considered as a group.

Carlton said that this submission was the final installment in the development of a retention schedule for LFUCG. The balance of the records for the government was approved by the Commission at previous meetings. The total number of series under consideration at today’s meeting is 40. Carlton noted Amye Bensenhaver’s recommendation made at the Advisory meeting that access restrictions be placed on the Enhanced 911 records series, L5637 and L5638.

Carlton said that there was a question raised during the Advisory meeting about the permanent retention of Sump Pump files. The series had been approved by the Commission at a previous meeting and was not under consideration at the September meeting of the Advisory Committee. Carlton advised the Commission members that LFUCG has a program where it will, for free, and at a homeowner’s request, go to the home and divert water into the county’s storm water system, rather than the sewer system. LFUCG can spend up to $1,700 in response to a request. LFUCG wants to keep the series permanently so it can verify, over time, where such work has occurred and at what cost.

Lykins asked about the disposition statement for series L5627, Chart of Accounts, which is “indefinite, destroy when updated.” Lykins suggested that the disposition be changed to something like “indefinite, destroy after no longer required,” to take into consideration that audit functions are usually post-audit. If there was an update to the Chart of Accounts that may impact information that would need to be provided to an auditor, it might not have been retained, if the updates over the previous fiscal year had been destroyed. The information should be retained for any pertinent audit or oversight responsibility that may come after the fact. Carlton said that the suggested change could be made, but pointed out that the official Chart of Accounts is maintained in the Division of Accounting. Lykins said that what really concerned him is the disposition as written allows for the destruction of the series after each update. Lykins said that the fact that the Division of Accounts is responsible for the official record was a good thing but that the disposition, as written, still provided for the destruction of the series after each update and that could possibly cause the series to be destroyed prematurely. Lykins said the information could be captured from other records but that that would be a cumbersome process. Carlton said that a change to the disposition would be made to take into account Lykins’ concerns. Lykins said the revised disposition could read something like “destroy after no longer pertinent, including any audit requirements.”

In response to a question from Coates, Lykins said that LFUCG is audited annually by external auditors, rather than the Auditor of Public Accounts’ Office. If the auditors needed to evaluate the account structure, where revenue streams have come in and how they have been accounted for, and where expenditures have been accounted for, they would need to be provided a complete list of all that account structure, not just the most current one. If there had been a significant change, the auditor would want to be able to track that change during the course of the fiscal year. To clarify, Lykins said that new programs could have been added and alterations to different account structures could have occurred during the fiscal year that the auditor would need to be aware of. Whether an account was audited or not would depend on how much revenue came into it or how many expenditures were associated with a particular account, Lykins said. Coates asked if there was a monetary cutoff. Lykins said there was materiality but there wasn’t a magic number. The account could be associated with a federal program that had federal audit requirements, or there could be a significant expenditure account stream that would require closer scrutiny.

Carlton said that, after approval of the entire schedule, workshops would be conducted to instruct LFUCG staff in its use and implementation.

Mr. Lykins made a motion to adopt this portion of the schedule and to reissue the entire schedule with a September 2004 date. The motion also included that the disposition for series L5627, Chart of Accounts, be changed to one approximating the suggestion noted above. The motion was seconded by Mr. Coates. The vote by members and representatives present was unanimous.

Carlton updated the Commission members regarding the relocation of the Records Center utilized by LFUCG to the recently acquired Furrow’s Building, located close to the Red Mile, in Lexington. Each of the members was given a copy of the proposed floor plan for the new facility, which reflects the location of the various components of the operation. Although the timetable has not been firmly set, Carlton said he believed the relocation would probably be completed before the end of 2005.

Louisville/Jefferson County Metro Government Schedule – Checklist – Fire and Rescue – Inspections, Permits and Licenses – Department of Finance – Department of Human Resources

Jim Cundy was the regional administrator working on this new schedule. The record being changed in the Checklist section of the schedule is L4560, Notes and/or Recordings of Meetings, from “indefinite, destroy or erase upon approval of minutes” to “indefinite, destroy 30 days after approval of written minutes.” The records being added to the Human Resources section of the schedule are L5757, Job Requisitions/Eligibility Lists File, and L5758, Applications of Persons Not Hired. In addition, several series were deleted from the schedule.

Cundy said that this submission was the first major portion of a new schedule for the Metro Government. The Checklist is the Metro Government’s equivalent of the Local Government General Records Retention Schedule and is comprised of records that are common among the Metro agencies. With the exception of the new record that was added, the Commission had already approved the 36 series under the previous City/County organizational structure.

The Fire and Rescue section of the schedule remains unchanged from the City of Louisville schedule, previously approved by the Commission. The schedule contains 31 series.

The Inspections, Permits and Licenses section retains the same series and retention periods as was approved in the City of Louisville schedule. The schedule contains five series. The unit will also use the Local Government General Records Schedule to manage the Building Permit File and the Certificates of Occupancy.

The Department of Finance section of the schedule also remains unchanged from the City of Louisville schedule and contains 23 series.

The Human Resources schedule is comprised of 21 series. With the exception of the two new series and the combining of several series into L5757 and L5758, the schedule remains the same as previously approved for the City of Louisville.

In response to a question, Cundy said that the schedules for the previous City organizational structure were the most applicable to the merged government, which he said was fortunate because those schedules were the most up-to-date ones.

Cundy said that the only recommendation the Advisory Committee had was that the retention periods for L4580, Open Records Request File, and L4582, Open Records Request for Inspection, be changed from “indefinite, destroy when requested record is destroyed” to “one year and destroy.” The retention periods for the series, as currently written, would not be easily implemented. Both series are found in the Checklist section of the schedule. Approving the change in retention of the series would bring their dispositions into conformity with the same series found in the Local Government General Records Retention Schedule. With that change, the Advisory Committee recommended that the Commission approve the schedule.

In response to a question from Dr. Morison, Cundy said that the two series contained only the request to inspect, not the requested records themselves. Morison was concerned that what he referred to as “case files,” meaning copies of the requested records, were what would be destroyed. Cundy reiterated that the series only contains the request to inspect a record or records. Bensenhaver said that the goal was to have uniformity in the practice and to establish a workable standard for the destruction of the files, rather than the unworkable one to “destroy when requested record is destroyed.” The understanding would be that any agency could keep the files longer than the one-year period, as retention requirements represent the minimum timeframe that records must be retained.

Dr. Ellis made a motion to adopt the schedule, with the change in retention of series L4580 and L4582, seconded by Mr. Horner. The vote by members and representatives present was unanimous.

Environmental and Public Protection – Office of Insurance – General Counsel

Moses was the records analyst working on this schedule change. The series being added to the schedule is 05403, Association Filings.

In 2004, the Department of Insurance was renamed the Office of Insurance and was placed under the Environmental and Public Protection Cabinet.

After a brief explanation, Dr. Morison made a motion to adopt the change, seconded by Mr. Haynes. The vote by members and representatives present was unanimous.

Moses was the records analyst working on this schedule change. The series being added to the schedule is P0040, Employee Suggestion File. The series was previously scheduled in the General Schedule approved by the Commission in 1995. When the General Schedule was revised in December 2003, the series was inadvertently left off. Previously, the series was scheduled under the Miscellaneous Section of the General Schedule and is now being moved to the Personnel and Payroll Section, where it more appropriately belongs.

Mr. Coates made a motion to adopt the change, seconded by Dr. Ellis. The vote by members and representatives present was unanimous.

Kentucky Horse Racing Authority (previously, the Kentucky Racing Commission)

Moses was the records analyst working on this schedule change. The series being added to the schedule is 05401, Breeder’s Award File. The Award program was in effect for the period 1992 to 1999. The file documents who received the award and the amount of the award.

Mr. Horner made a motion to adopt the change, seconded by Ms. McAninch. The vote by members and representatives present was unanimous.

Tim McIntosh was the regional administrator working on this schedule change. The series being added to the schedule is L5653, Evaluation Tests for Students with Special Needs.

McIntosh explained that the series documents the actual tests that are given to students who may have special needs. The test information is compiled into a report that is retained for three years after the student has left the school. After compilation of the test scores, the tests themselves are no longer needed, thus the recommended one-year retention requirement. Dr. Ellis asked if the parents saw or received a copy of the test results. McIntosh said that they could have access to the test results that are compiled into the report. Carlton said that the report becomes a part of the student’s special education due process folder. Those folders can’t be destroyed until the parent has been notified.

Dr. Ellis made a motion to adopt the change, seconded by Dr. Morison. The vote by the members and representatives present was unanimous.

Moses was the records analyst working on this schedule change. The series being changed is 00059, Uniform Citation File. The change was to the disposition only, to allow for the destruction of the hard copy citation after scanning. The retention of the series remains three years. The series being deleted from the schedule are 03462, KARS Summary of Motor Vehicle Traffic Accidents; 03463, KARS Agency Accident Summary; 03464, KARS Summary of Interstate Accidents; 03465, KARS Summary of Parkway Accident; and 03466, KARS Special Studies. The Kentucky Accident Reporting System (KARS) was replaced by the Collision Report Analysis for Safer Highways (CRASH) system, in 2002. All of the previous KARS information was input to the new system.

Mr. Haynes made a motion to adopt the change, seconded by Dr. Ellis. The vote by members and representatives present was unanimous.

Nelson directed the members to the Executive Branch Ethics Commission communication from its Executive Director, Jill LeMaster. Similar letters have been sent to other boards and commissions that basically ask that members of the respective board or commission adopt a model Code of Ethics. The letter directed to the State Archives and Records Commission specifically urges it take the initiative in implementing ethical standards for its members by adopting, at a minimum, this Code of Ethics. The following is a direct statement from the letter: “As you are well aware public service on the State Archives and Records Commission is a public trust, and this is an opportunity to ratify the standards of good judgment, independence and ethical behavior that your members typically exercise.” The letter further states “Although the employees of the State Archives and Records Commission are subject to the Executive Branch Code of Ethics in KRS Chapter 11A, the members are not. Thus, the adoption of a code of ethics will strengthen and promote public confidence in the administration of your agency and will serve as an example for other board and commission members within state government in applying the high ideals embodied by the Executive Branch Code of Ethics.” Nelson asked that the Commission members review the document so that official action could be taken at the December 2004 meeting.

Belding then moved to a discussion of the “Guidelines for Managing Web-Based Records,” which each member had received in a separate mailing. Belding said that the document, which is still in draft form, was part of an ongoing effort by staff to develop procedural guidelines for agencies to assist them in the management of records that are created and disseminated through their web sites. The draft guidelines have already been reviewed by individuals in a number of state agencies and by records management staff in the state universities. Belding said that the document fills a very important niche in the procedural activities being undertaken by PRD staff. The need to manage web-based records has also been a focus of discussion by the Electronic Records Working Group (ERWG). Mark Myers, Electronic Records Specialist, in the Technology Analysis and Support Branch, has been instrumental in the development of the guidelines. Belding said that there would be further discussion of the document at the December 2004 Commission meeting.

A related item is the development of a revision of the Department’s Administrative Regulation (AR) that describes the procedures by which agencies need to manage state publications. The revision is designed to update the language of the AR to include the creation of electronic publications and their dissemination by electronic means. The use of electronic technology does not relieve agencies of their responsibilities to continue to meet the requirements of the AR, with regard to providing copies of publications that are intended for general public distribution to the Department for long term preservation and
access. The existing AR, Belding said, was not written in such a way as to be helpful and to provide guidance in that area. The draft that has been developed has been shared with Brent Legg, the Cabinet’s Chief Technology Officer and Legislative Liaison to the Governor’s Office. The next step will be to have meetings with attorneys at the Legislative Research Commission, to ensure that all technical standards for creation of ARs have been met. After that, a hearing will be scheduled to invite public comment. Staff would also have to appear before the Legislative Review Committee that has responsibility for the review and approval of ARs.

As the last item of business, Belding provided information regarding Kentucky Archives Week, which has been celebrated for the past two years in October. This year’s event will occur October 10th through the 16th . The annual event is part of the strategic plan of the State Historical Records Advisory Board, to increase public awareness across the state of the work of people who have responsibility for archives and records, whether in a public setting like the State Archives or any of the literally hundreds of local private or public repositories, such as public libraries, local historical societies, or special collections and archives at universities, to highlight their collections and the importance of their work, and that the support of the public is needed.