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3558 To establish retention periods for records of the Town of Tillsonburg, and to repeal By-Law No. 2666By-law 3558— Records Retention A by-law to establish retention periods for records of the Town of Tillsonburg, and to repeal By-law No. 2666. WHEREAS subsection 254(1) of the Municipal Act 2001, S.O. 2001, c. 25 as amended, ("Municipal Act") provides that a municipality shall retain and preserve its records in a secure and accessible manner; and WHEREAS subsection 255(3) of the Municipal Act 2001, S.O. 2001, c. 25 as amended, provides that a municipality may, subject to the approval of the municipal auditor, establish retention periods during which the records of the municipality and local boards of the municipality must be retained and preserved; and WHEREAS subsection 255(2) of the Municipal Act 2001, S.O. 2001, c. 25 as amended, provides that a municipality's records may be destroyed if a retention period for the record has been established and the retention has expired; and WHEREAS the Council of The Corporation of the Town of Tillsonburg deems it appropriate to update the Town's Records Retention By-law; NOW THEREFORE the Council of The Corporation of the Town of Tillsonburg HEREBY ENACTS AS FOLLOWS: 1. DEFINITIONS a. "archival selection" means to evaluate and appraise a record for permanent retention because of its historical value. b. "destruction" means the final phase of a record's lifecycle, and can take place by shredding, recycling, or deleting (electronic). c. "records" means any record of information however recorded (print, film, electronic or otherwise and includes: correspondence, memoranda, books, plans, maps, drawings, diagrams, pictures, films, microfiche, sound recording, video, or any other documented material regardless of physical form or characteristics d. "responsible department" is a column heading in the retention table and identifies the department with the primary responsibility for retaining the record. e. "retention" means the length of time a record is to be retained before its final disposition. f. "retention descriptions" as described as follows: E = Event Trigger (date of event plus additional years) P= Permanent (when a record it to be preserved indefinitely) S= Superseded * = subject to archival selection (to be reviewed prior to disposal) g. "Signing authority" means the manager of the responsible department or business unit, or his/her designate h. "Town" means the Corporation of the Town of Tillsonburg. i. "Transitory record" means a record that has temporary usefulness and is only required for the completion of a routine action, and should be discarded as soon as is practicable. These include, but are not restricted to i. Duplicate copies of documents retained only for distribution or as a convenience copy ii. Unsolicited advertising information iii. Draft letters, memos, informal notes that do not represent significant steps in the preparation of the final document. r., iv. Publications, directories, brochures, catalogues, or other promotional information that is out of date and no longer useful. v. Emails and voicemail having only temporary value. vi. Business not related to the town 2. ADMINISTRATION & RESPONSIBILITY a. The Clerk or his/her designate shall be responsible for administering this by-law and ensuring compliance with this bylaw. b. The Clerk or his/her designate, in consideration of the TOMRMS classification system, shall determine the appropriate classification of records taking into account the legal, financial, administrative, operational, and historical values of each record 3. RETENTION SCHEDULE a. The retention schedule attached as Schedule A forms part of this by- law. 4. PRINCIPLES GOVERNING THE DESTRUCTION OF RECORDS The following principles shall govern the destruction of records: a. No records shall be destroyed unless first classified according to this by-law. b. The retention period has expired, or the record is transitory in nature. c. All records containing sensitive, private, or personal information shall be destroyed in a manner that preserves the confidentiality of any information contained in such records. d. Any record pertaining to pending or actual litigation or investigation, or a pending FOI request, shall not be destroyed until such record is no longer required for such purpose e. All record destruction notices are to be retained by Clerks Office. 5. PROCEDURES FOR THE DESTRUCTION OF RECORDS Where a record may be destroyed after its retention period has expired under this by-law, the following procedure shall apply: a. The Clerk or his/her designate shall notify the appropriate signing authority in writing of the scheduled destruction of the record, including list of records to be destroyed and the scheduled destruction date. b. The signing authority shall notify the Clerk or his/her designate in writing, before the scheduled destruction date, whether any of the records need to be retained past the scheduled destruction date, and the reason why it is necessary. c. If no such extension of retention is deemed necessary by the signing authority, he/she shall sign the prescribed form to consent to the destruction of the records. The Clerk or his/her designate shall retain the signed consent form. 6. EFFECTIVE DATE This by-law shall take effect upon its dating of passing. 7. TITLE This by-law shall be known as the Records Retention By-law. 8. REPEAL By-law 2666 is hereby repealed. READ A FIRST AND SECOND TIME THIS 12th day of December, 2011. READ A THIRD AND FINAL TIME AND PASSED THIS g`h day of January, 2012. ok May(r - J hnhn Lesjif L erk - Donna Wilson Auditor Certification: Christine Scrimgeour, Municipal Auditor