Appendix H.  

This revised Records Retention and Disposition Schedule indicates the minimum length of time that officials of Cities, Towns, Villages and Fire Districts must retain their records before they may be disposed of legally. It is a revised edition of Records Retention and Disposition Schedule MU-1, originally issued in 1988, and revised since then. It has been prepared and issued by the State Archives and Records Administration (SARA), State Education Department, pursuant to section 57.25 of the Arts and Cultural Affairs Law, and Part 185, Title 8 of the Official Compilation of Codes, Rules and Regulations of the State of New York.

The purposes of this Schedule are to:

(1) ensure that records are retained as long as needed for administrative, legal and fiscal purposes;

(2) ensure that State and Federal record retention requirements are met;

(3) ensure that record series with enduring historical and other research value are identified and retained permanently; and

(4) encourage and facilitate the systematic disposal of unneeded records.

Before records disposition takes place, this Schedule must be formally adopted by resolution of the governing body. Adoption procedures are explained in the Instructions. If your governing body has already adopted Schedule MU-1 (1988) by resolution, then you do not need to adopt the Schedule again in order to use this revised edition, even though there are major changes between this edition and the previous edition of the Schedule. Once the Schedule has been adopted, local officials may proceed to dispose of records that have met the retention periods specified on the Schedule.

Records Retention and Disposition Schedule MU-1 supersedes and replaces all Records Retention and Disposition Schedules previously issued by SARA for use by cities, towns, villages and fire districts: 4-P-1, 4-P-1A, 4-P-1B, 11-City-1, 12-CP-1, 19-TC-1, 20-Lib-1, 23-H-2, and 24-CSP-2.The consent of the Commissioner of Education to use these schedules is withdrawn, and they may not be used to dispose of records. The governing body must adopt Records Retention and Disposition Schedule MU-1 in order to dispose of any records.

Archival records are records that governments must keep permanently to meet fiscal, legal, or administrative needs of the government or which the government retains because they contain historically significant information. Records do not have to be old to be archival; local officials create and use archival records daily in offices. What makes a record worthy of permanent retention and special management is the continuing importance of the information it contains.

When SARA has determined that a record series has enduring historical or other research significance for all local governments, the series has been given a permanent designation on the Schedule. Other record series which may have historical or research significance in some local governments but not in others have an appraisal note to encourage local officials to evaluate the records to determine their importance before disposition. However, SARA cannot identify all record series with historical or research significance for individual local governments. Knowledge of people, places, or events in each community and the unique circumstances of each government will determine which records are significant. Local Officials will need to appraise records with nonpermanent retention periods for potential research or historical value before destroying them.

The usefulness of archival records depends on the government's ability to preserve them, retrieve the information they contain, and make that information available to researchers. Further information on managing archival records is provided in SARA Information Leaflet No. 40, Fundamentals of Managing Local Government Archival Records.

A local government record has historical or other research importance if it provides significant evidence of how the government functions and/or if it provides significant information about people, places or events that involve the government. Since each community has its own unique history, the importance or value of a record series may vary from local government to local government.

Because local governments are continually involved in the lives of people, their records may contain a tremendous amount of information about the people who live there, the buildings and sites within their borders, and the important time periods or significant events that affected the people of the region.

Government records can reveal information about what people owned; about attitudes, values and concerns of the citizens; about how the construction of a new highway led to the end of a neighborhood, or about how a community reacted to a military base closing. The records may contain information about the people, places or events themselves or about the decisions made in relation to them. This information can be very valuable to staff, researchers, and the public, but only if the information itself is significant. The records must contain enough information to adequately document the people, places, or events recorded. The significance of the records will depend on:

• When the records were created: records created during a time of momentous change, which are scarce or which cover a long period of time tend to be more significant.

• What kind of information the records contain: records that contain more in-depth information are more likely to have enduring value.

• Who created the records: records that reflect an employee's perspective or individual point of view may be more significant.

• What other records exist: if the information in the records exists in other records within the local government or elsewhere in the State or country, then the records are less likely to be significant.

• The unique history of the local government or community: records created during important time periods or events can provide clues to how the events affected the development of the government and the community it serves.

The historical or other research importance of records will vary from local government to local government and from region to region. The people, places, or events in each community, and the unique circumstances of each government, determine which records are significant. Further information on identifying historically significant records is provided in SARA Information Leaflet No. 50, Appraisal of Local Government Records for Historical Value. SARA staff can also advise and assist local officials who are appraising records for potential long-term research value.

Disposition of records created before 1910 requires specific written approval from SARA, as required by section 185.6(c) of 8 NYCRR, the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education. Certain records which would normally be disposable under Schedule MU-1 may need to be kept if created before 1910. Often these records have continuing historical or research value because:

(1) Other documentation no longer exists. Many earlier records were destroyed through natural disaster or through destruction by public officials prior to the passage of the first State statute in 1911 requiring the consent of the Commissioner of Education to the disposition of local public records.

(2) The volume and type of information contained in records have changed since the beginning of the 20th century. Older records often have more detailed and historically significant information than those produced today.

(3) Early records sometimes have intrinsic value beyond the information they contain. “Intrinsic value” refers to qualities, such as value for exhibits, association with significant events, and aesthetic value, which records may possess beyond merely the information they contain. Further information on identifying records with intrinsic value is provided in SARA Information Leaflet No. 36, Intrinsic Value of Local Government Archival Records.

Local officials desiring to dispose of any records created before 1910 should telephone or write SARA, to obtain disposition request forms. This requirement also applies to the disposition of original records predating 1910 which have been microfilmed. SARA will review each request and advise the local government on retention or disposition of the records.

Records Not on Schedule MU-1

This Schedule covers the vast majority of all records of cities, towns, villages and fire districts. For any record not listed, the Records Management Officer, or the custodian of the record, should contact SARA to determine if it is indeed covered by this Schedule and if a legal minimum retention period has been established. If not, SARA will consult with appropriate State and local officials and users of local government records and advise the local government on the disposition of the records. If the record is not covered by an item on this Schedule, it must be retained until a revised edition of or addendum to Schedule MU-1 is issued containing an item covering the record in question and providing a minimum legal retention period for it.

The disposition of canceled obligations (including bonds and notes) is covered by section 63.10 of the Local Finance Law and Part 55 of Title 2 of the Official Compilation of Codes, Rules and Regulations of the State of New York. A leaflet on this subject is available from SARA's Government Records Services. Questions about the destruction procedure should be addressed to the Office of State Comptroller, Division of Legal Services, 110 State Street, Albany, NY 12236; phone (518) 474-5586.

Disposition of court records is governed by the State Office of Court Administration (OCA). Disposition schedules listing court records held by municipalities are available from OCA. For information, contact Records Office, Office of Court Administration, 25 Beaver Street, 8th Floor, New York, NY 10004 (212-428-2877).

Records of births, deaths, and marriages (dating after 1880) generated pursuant to article 41 of the Public Health Law or Domestic Relations Law are considered State government records even though they are generated by or filed in local government offices. Disposition of State government records is governed by the provisions of section 57.05(11) of the Arts and Cultural Affairs Law. Disposition under this Law is also coordinated by SARA's Government Records Services. For more information, contact SARA or the Director's Office, Vital Records Section, New York State Department of Health, P.O. Box 2602, Albany, NY 12220-2602 (518-474-3055).

Retention periods for records of New York City offices and boroughs are established by the New York City Department of Records and Information Services (DORIS), 31 Chambers Street, New York, NY 10007 (212-788-8571). Contact that office for more information if you represent an agency, unit or other part of the corporate entity of New York City, including its boroughs. Remember that all other local governments located in New York City, including counties, school districts and public benefit corporations, use retention schedules issued by SARA.

Adoption of Schedule MU-1 and Request for Additional Copies

Before any records listed on Schedule MU-1 may be disposed of, the governing body must formally adopt the Schedule by passing a resolution. A model resolution is included in the Introduction to this Schedule. It is not necessary to send a copy of the passed resolution to SARA.

This Schedule may be used by the local government until the governing body rescinds its authorizing resolution, or the Schedule is superseded or replaced by SARA.

Additional copies of Schedule MU-1 can be obtained by calling SARA at (518) 474-6926 or faxing SARA at (518) 486-4923. Schedule MU-1 can also be obtained in electronic format by calling, faxing or writing SARA. SARA's e-mail address is recmgmt@mail.nysed.gov. Schedule MU-1 is also available on the internet at SARA's web site at http://www.sara.nysed.gov.

In general items on Schedule MU-1 are arranged as they were on the previous edition, with a few significant exceptions. The Budget, Payroll and Purchasing sections are now subsections of the Fiscal section. The Planning and Zoning sections are now subsections of the Building and Property Regulation section. Radiological Health records have been moved from the Environmental Health section to the Public Health section. New sections have been added to cover records of Heritage Areas (Urban Cultural Parks) and Veterans' Services.

Items on this Schedule preceded by a diamond symbol (A) are either new to the 2000 edition or substantively changed from the previous (1993) edition. Items preceded by a double diamond symbol (AA) are either new to this 2003 edition or substantively changed from the 2000 edition. They may have longer or shorter retention periods, additional parts, or additional or revised explanatory notes. Please note these changes carefully on your office schedules and/or inventory or records control forms because only the current items as contained in this edition of Schedule MU-1 are legally applicable. In particular, the Public Safety section has been thoroughly revised, with new subsections and items reorganized.

In addition to consecutive numbering of items within each section/subsection of the Schedule, items are also assigned a unique identifying number. That number, which appears in brackets [ ], does not change as items are revised or relocated in new editions of Schedule MU-1. New items in this edition have been assigned new unique identifying numbers regardless of their location in the Schedule.

Many of the schedule items are broad and describe the purpose or function of records rather than identifying individual documents and forms. Local officials should match the records in their offices with the generalized descriptions on the Schedule to determine appropriate retention periods. Records whose content and function are substantially the same as an item described in the Schedule should be considered to be covered by that item. Local officials should check with SARA when they are uncertain regarding coverage of a function.

Retention periods on this Schedule apply to one “official” copy designated by the local government unless otherwise stated. No matter what the medium, local officials must ensure that the information will be retained for the specified retention period.

The retention periods listed in this Schedule pertain to the information contained in records, regardless of physical form or characteristic (paper, microfilm, computer disk or tape, or other medium). Duplicate copies of records, including copies maintained on different media (paper, electronic, etc.), may be disposed of in accordance with item no. 19 of the General section of this Schedule.

Some records may be needed to defend the local government in legal actions. Records that are being used in such actions must be retained for the entire period of the action even if their retention period has passed. If the retention period has expired by the time the legal action ends, the record must be retained for at least one additional year to resolve any need for the record in an appeal. If the retention period has not expired, the record must be retained for the remainder of the retention period, but not less than one year after the legal action ends. Prior to disposing of records, local officials may wish to consult with their municipal counsel to verify that no legal actions have been initiated which would require longer retention of the records.

The State Education Department's Office of the Professions oversees the professional conduct of licensed health professionals other than physicians, who are under the jurisdiction of the Department of Health. Section 29.2 of 8 NYCRR (Regulations of the Commissioner of Education) contains “General Provisions for the Health Professions.” Paragraph 3 of subdivision a of this section states that “unprofessional conduct” includes “failing to maintain records for each patient which accurately reflects the evaluation and treatment of the patient. Unless otherwise provided by law, all patient records must be retained for at least six years. ...records of minor patients must be retained for at least six years and until one year after the patient reaches the age of 21 years.”

A number of health related items on Schedule MU-1 and other SARA schedules contain minimum legal retention periods which permit disposition of records 3 years after a minor attains age 18. These items are mostly found in the Personnel/Civil Service and Public Health sections. In these instances, certain records pertaining to minors must also be retained for an additional year if those records are subject to the section 29.2 requirements for health professionals, other than physicians, employed by or associated with local governments. For additional information on this situation, contact SARA's Government Records Services.

Program and fiscal audits and other needs of State and Federal agencies are taken into account when retention periods are established by SARA. However, in some instances agencies with audit responsibility and authority may formally request that certain records be kept beyond the retention periods. If such a request is made, these records must be retained beyond the retention periods until the local government receives the audit report or until the need is satisfied.

The retention and disposition of the originals of records that have been microfilmed or electronically duplicated is governed by section 57.29 of the Arts & Cultural Affairs Law and SARA procedures. Please contact SARA for further information prior to beginning a program of microfilming or any other form of records duplication.

While items on Schedule MU-1 for the most part cover records regardless of the format in which they are maintained, electronic records in some subject areas are treated differently in this edition of the schedule. Some electronic records are listed specifically in the Building and Property Regulation, Public Health, Public Safety, and Taxation and Assessment sections. In addition, the Electronic Data Processing section has been greatly expanded to cover a number of series not covered by the previous edition of this Schedule. Study SARA's Regulations relating to electronic records (section 185.8, 8 NYCRR), and contact SARA if you have any questions or problems after reviewing these requirements. Contact SARA as well if you need additional information on electronic records falling in the subject areas mentioned above.

Generally, records transmitted through e-mail systems have the same retention periods as records in other formats that are related to the same program function or activity. E-mail records should be scheduled for disposition in conjunction with any other records related to the program function. Local governments may delete, purge, or destroy e-mail records provided that the records have been retained for the minimum retention established in this Schedule and are not being used for a legal action or audit. Transitory messages may be destroyed in a timely manner, using item no. 18 in the General section of the Schedule. Further information on e-mail records, suggested filing practices, dealing with duplicate copies, and a sample e-mail policy are found in Managing Records in E-Mail Systems (1995), available from SARA.

Electronic records created specifically for distribution via the internet are considered publications, and are covered by item no. 11 in the General section.

This Schedule does not address the issue of public access to records. Access issues are not covered by the Local Government Records Law but are covered by the Freedom of Information Law (Public Officers Law, sections 84 through 90). SARA urges local government officials to consult with their own counsels, the Committee on Open Government which administers the Freedom of Information Law (see below), or the State or Federal agency having oversight over the records in question.

The Committee on Open Government is responsible for administering the Freedom of Information Law, which governs rights of access to government records. (The Committee also administers the Open Meetings Law which concerns the conduct of meetings of public bodies and the right to attend those meetings.) The Committee can provide written or oral advice and mediate in controversies in which rights may be unclear. For more information or advice, please contact:

Robert J. Freeman

Executive Director

Committee on Open Government

NYS Department of State

41 State Street

Albany, NY 12231

518-474-2518

The Committee has issued a booklet, Your Right to Know: New York State's Open Government Laws, which provides guidance on the Freedom of Information Law. As explained in that booklet, the law defines what is meant by a “record” and sets forth provisions regarding access. The booklet states that “all records are accessible, except records that fall within one of nine categories of deniable records.” These nine categories (section 87-2 of the Law) are explained in the booklet. The categories include records which, if disclosed, would result in an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy; records which would, if disclosed, impair present or imminent contract awards or collective bargaining negotiations; certain records prepared for law enforcement purposes; certain types of inter-agency or intra-agency communications; and several other categories. The booklet describes them in detail. As the booklet notes,

“The categories of deniable records are generally directed to the effects of disclosure. They are based in great measure upon the notion that disclosure would in some instances ‘impair,’ ‘cause substantial injury,’ ‘interfere,’ ‘deprive,’ ‘endanger,’ etc.”

Local officials should note that the Freedom of Information Law does not require that they provide unrestricted public access to birth, death and marriage licenses. Information about providing access to such records can be obtained from the Vital Records Section of the New York State Department of Health.

Governments are required to develop a subject matter list of their records and to designate a records access officer to coordinate their response to public requests for records. The booklet also explains how people can obtain records, the process for denying access, and how that denial can be appealed. It explains other provisions of the law in detail.

SARA strongly urges local officials to read this booklet and contact the Committee on Open Government for any guidance or advice that is needed.

Records in this Schedule may or may not be confidential, depending on what information they contain and on the possible effect of disclosure of that information. In approaching issues of confidentiality and access, it may be helpful to consider the following, after reviewing the laws and the Your Right to Know booklet referred to above:

A What was the purpose for which the records were created?

A What information do they contain—what subjects are covered?

A How are the records used?

A How do they relate to other records that may have similar information?

A What would be the likely effect of disclosure of the information in the records?

Once this Schedule has been formally adopted valueless records may be disposed of continually as they meet their stated minimum retention periods. The advantages of a program for systematic, legal disposal of obsolete records are that it:

(1) ensures that records are retained as long as they are actually needed for administrative, fiscal, legal, or research purposes;

(2) ensures that records are properly disposed of after they are no longer needed;

(3) frees storage space and equipment for important records and for new records as they are created;

(4) eliminates time and effort required to service and sort through superfluous records to find needed information;

(5) eliminates the potential fire hazard from storage of large quantities of valueless records; and

(6) facilitates the identification and preservation of archival records.

Suggestions for systematically approaching the disposition process include the following:

(A) Section 57.19 of the Arts & Cultural Affairs Law requires each local government to designate a Records Management Officer to coordinate or directly carry out disposition. The duties of a Records Management Officer are described in SARA Information Leaflet No. 1, Fundamentals of Establishing a Records Management Program. Copies of this Leaflet are available upon request from SARA.

(B) Disposition should be carried out regularly, at least once a year. It should not be deferred until records become a pressing storage problem. Duplicate copies of records, including copies maintained on different media (paper, electronic, etc.), may be disposed of in accordance with item no. 19 of the General section of this Schedule.

(C) State law does not prescribe the physical means of destruction of most records. Records may be destroyed in any way the Records Management Officer or other local official chooses. Disposition through consignment to a paper recycling plant is often the best choice as it helps conserve natural resources and also yields revenue for the local government. For records containing confidential information, disposition should be carried out in a way that ensures that the confidentiality of individuals named in the records is protected.

(D) A record should be kept of the identity, inclusive dates, and approximate quantity of records that are disposed. Sample disposition forms are available from SARA.

(E) The Records Management Officer, or other official who carries out disposition, should describe what has been done to dispose of records during the year in an annual report to the governing body.

1. Records created before 1910 (even those which have been microfilmed) are not eligible for disposition without written permission from SARA.

2. No records may be disposed of unless they are listed on this Schedule, or their disposition is covered by other State laws.

3. Records common to most offices are listed under the General section of the Schedule. One should first attempt to locate a specific item under a functional heading. If the record you are locating cannot be found under a functional heading, then proceed to this General section to search for a less specific item covering the record.

4. Records being used in legal actions must be retained for one year after the legal action ends, or until their scheduled retention period has passed, whichever is longer.

5. Records being kept beyond the established retention periods for audit and other purposes at the request of State or Federal agencies must be retained until the local government receives the audit report, or the need is satisfied.

6. Retention periods on this Schedule apply to one “official” copy designated by the local government, unless otherwise stated.

7. The retention periods listed in this Schedule pertain to the information contained in records, regardless of physical form or characteristic (paper, microfilm, computer disk or tape, or other medium).

8. The Budget, Payroll and Purchasing sections are now subsections of the Fiscal section. The Planning and Zoning sections are now subsections of the Building and Property Regulation section. Radiological Health records have been moved from the Environmental Health section to the Public Health section. New sections have been added to cover records of Heritage Areas (Urban Cultural Parks) and Veterans' Services.

9. SARA cannot identify all record series with historical significance for individual local governments. Local officials will need to appraise records with nonpermanent retention periods for potential research or historical value before destroying them.

10. Certain records may need to be retained for one year longer than Schedule MU-1 dictates if those records are subject to the requirements stated in section 29.2 of 8 NYCRR for health professionals, other than physicians, employed by or associated with local governments.

11. The Local Government Records Law and Schedule MU-1 do not address confidentiality of records. Confidentiality of records is often dependent upon what information they contain. Local officials should address such questions to the Committee on Open Government, their own counsels, or other State or Federal agency having oversight of the records in question.