Harrisonville aldermen approve annual records destruction to meet state retention schedule

At the Harrisonville Board of Aldermen meeting, members voted to adopt Council Bill 57, a resolution authorizing the city administrator to conduct the city’s annual destruction of records in accordance with Missouri Secretary of State retention schedules. The motion was made by Alderman Davidson and seconded by Alderman Fouch and passed on a roll-call vote; Council Bill 57 was recorded as Resolution 2025‑25.

City Administrator Daniel told the board the procedure is required by the Secretary of State and covers multiple departments. “It's our annual records destruction. It's something that the Secretary of State requires us to do each year to stay in compliance with their retention schedules,” Daniel said. When asked whether the destruction covers electronic as well as paper records, Daniel replied, “Yes, sir.”

The nut graf: the action clears records that have exceeded retention periods and reduces storage and staff workload associated with maintaining obsolete files in the event of public-records requests.

Board members asked no further questions before voting. The resolution authorizes implementation of the destruction process for items identified by staff as beyond their retention period; no additional conditions or funding allocations were attached to the measure.

Background: City staff compile retention lists across departments and follow state-prescribed schedules to determine when records may be destroyed. The board's vote formalizes the city’s annual compliance step.

This item was procedural and handled during the consent/regular agenda; no public comment or amendments were recorded.