2024-062 Records RetentionTHE CORPORATION OF THE TOWN OF TILLSONBURG
BY-LAW 2024-062
A BY-LAW to establish retention periods for records of the Town of Tillsonburg, and to repeal By-Law 3933.
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 and local boards of the municipality must be retained and preserved; and
WHEREAS subection 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 records has been
established and the retention and the retention has expired; and
WHEREAS the council of The Corporation of the Town of Tillsonburg deems it expedient to update the Town’s Record Retention By-Law;
BE IT THEREFORE ENACTED by the Council of the Corporation of the Town of Tillsonburg as follows:
DEFINITIONS:
In this by-law,
Active Retention: The period of time during which records are required for constantly for current use by a department in conducting its business and are retained in office or work area
prior to transfer to inactive retention or other disposition. Active Retention includes physical records which may be digitized as per the Disposition Method, if necessary or convenient
and provided for legislatively or in the Retention Schedule.
Archival Selection: Means to evaluate and appraise a record for permanent retention because of its historical value.
Classification: (as in records classification) Shall mean the systematic identification and arrangement of records into categories according to logically structured conventions, methods,
and procedural rules, represented in a classification scheme.
Disposition: means the final action taken upon the expiration of a record’s retention period, in accordance with TOMRMS and relevant legislation.
Disposition Method: means the form of disposition of a record following the expiration of the total retention period. Method of disposition are as follows:
Archive: means permanent preservation of a record in the Vault.
Destroy: means destruction of a record without any copy being retained in any media format or location, said disposition shall be by confidential destruction for paper records and magnetic
media, and by purging for electronic records. All records shall be destroyed by the Records Department or in conjunction with the Records Department.
Digitize and Archive: means the paper or micrographic record is converted to a scanned/digitized/microfilmed image and the paper or the microfilm are stored in the Vault.
Digitize and Retain: means the paper or micrographic record is converted to a scanned/digitized/microfilmed image and the paper or the microfilm is retained permanently.
Digitize and Destroy: means the paper or micrographic records is converted to a scanned/digitized/microfilmed image and the paper or the microfilm is destroyed.
Inactive Retention: means the period of time, if any, during which records are required sporadically or infrequently and are retained outside of the Responsible Department and includes
physical records which may be digitized as per the disposition method, if necessary or convenient and provided for legislatively or in the Retention Schedule.
Notice of Disposition: means a written notice provided by the Clerk or designate to a Responsible Department identifying a Record or Records scheduled for disposition and includes the
scheduled disposition date.
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.
Responsible Department: Is a column heading in the retention schedule and identifies the department with the primary responsibility for retaining the record.
Retention: The length of time a record is to be retained before its final disposition.
Retention Descriptions: Described as follows:
C = Current Year
E = Event Trigger (date of event, plus additional years)
P = Permanent (when a record is to be preserved indefinitely)
S = Superseded
*= subject to archival selection (to be reviewed prior to disposal)
Retention Hold: refers to maintaining a document for longer than what the Retention Schedule has indicated. Reasons for putting a Record on a Retention Hold are outlined in Section
5.
Retention Schedule: Means a control document that describes the company's records at a series level, and indicates the length of time that each series shall be retained before its final
disposition. It specifies those records to be preserved for their archival or legal values, and authorizes on a continuing basis the destruction of the remaining records after the lapse
of a specified retention period or the occurrence of specified actions or events.
Signing Authority: Means the manager of the responsible department or business unit, or his/her designate.
TOMRMS: Meaning the Ontario Municipal Records Management System.
Town: Means The Corporation of the Town of Tillsonburg.
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:
Duplicate copies of documents retained only for distribution or as a convenience copy.
Unsolicited advertising information.
Draft letters, memos, informal notes that do not represent significant steps in the preparation of the final document.
Publications, directories, brochures, catalogues, or other promotional information that is out of date and no longer useful.
Emails and voicemail having only temporary value.
Business not related to the Town.
Vault: Refers to the location designated for the storage of archived records.
ADMINISTRATION & RESPONSIBILITY
The Clerk or his/her designate shall be responsible for administering this by-law and ensuring compliance with this by-law.
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.
That authority for establishing and amending retention periods for the
records of The Corporation of the Town of Tillsonburg shall be delegated to the Town Clerk
That the Records Retention Schedule attached hereto as Schedule "A" be adopted and the Town Clerk be authorized to amend the schedule from time to time.
That the Town Clerk submit a report to Council a minimum of every four years regarding the status of the Records Retention By-Law and attached Schedule.
RETENTION SCHEDULE
The retention schedule attached as Schedule "A" forms part of this by-law.
The retention schedule which is set out in Schedule “A” to this by-law shall be adjusted from time to time without amendment to this by-law by the Clerk or designate in accordance with
section 3.
PRINCIPLES GOVERNING THE DESTRUCTION OF RECORDS
No records shall be destroyed unless first classified according to this by-law.
The retention period has expired, or the record is transitory in nature.
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.
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 purposes.
All record destruction notices are to be retained by the Clerk's Office.
The clerk or designate shall administer the appropriate standard for Classification of Records, taking into account the legal, financial, administrative, operational, and historic value
of each Record, and shall monitor the Retention Schedule for compliance with legislative requirements. Where there is no legislative mandate for retention, best practices in combination
with staff, Responsible Department consultation and/or outside consultation, shall be followed.
PROCEDURES FOR THE DESTRUCTION OF RECORDS
Where a record may be destroyed after its retention period has expired under this by-law, the following procedures shall apply:
The Clerk or his/her designate shall notify the appropriate signing authority in writing of the scheduled destruction of the record, including a list of records to be destroyed and the
scheduled destruction date.
In the event that a Responsible Department receives a Notice for Disposition for a Record under Section 5 and wishes to place a Retention Hold on the Record, the following will apply:
The Responsible Department shall notify the Clerk or designate in writing, before the scheduled Disposition date, if in his or her opinion any Record included in the notice should be
put on Retention Hold, and the rationale for the Retention Hold.
The reason for Retention Holds include:
Legal Matters: the Record in question is the subject of a litigation matter or pending litigation or claim and must be retained until the matter, including any appeals, is resolved;
Audit: the Record in question is subject to an audit or pending audit and must be retained until the audit is complete;
Investigation: the Record in question is required for any type of investigation or pending investigation and must be retained until the investigation is completed and any necessary
action is taken;
MFIPPA Request: the record in question is required for a request made under the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act and must be retained until the necessary
copies are made to satisfy the request;
Retention Period Review: the record in question has been assigned the incorrect retention period which needs to be reviewed and the record will be destroyed in accordance with the new
retention period if approved; or
Archives/Historical Value: the record in question has not yet been determined as having archival/historical value and must be reviewed.
If, in the opinion of the Clerk or designate, circumstances warrant retention of the Record for a further period, the Disposition of the Record shall be placed on Retention Hold for
up to one year and for such further periods as may be determined by the Clerk or designate in consultation with the Responsible Department.
If the Clerk or designate provides a Notice of Disposition and does not receive a request for a Retention Hold in accordance with Section 5 before the scheduled destruction date, the
Record shall be deemed to be authorized for disposition.
CITING OF BY-LAW
a. This by-law shall be known as the "Records Retention By-Law".
REPEAL OF BY-LAW
a. That By-Law No. 3558 be hereby repealed in its entirety.
APPROVAL OFBY-LAW
This By-Law shall come into force and effect immediately upon the final passing thereof.
READ A FIRST AND SECOND TIME THIS 27th day of MAY, 2024.
READ A THIRD AND FINAL TIME AND PASSED THIS 27th day of MAY, 2024.
___________________________ MAYOR – Deb Gilvesy
______________________________ CLERK – Tanya Daniels