Committee approves disposal of police department records under state archival rules

The Administration Communication Technology Committee approved a motion to dispose of certain physical records from the Westchester Police Department during the meeting Tuesday, following an explanation of the legal retention process.

A solicitor explained that disposal of physical municipal records follows a process governed by the Pennsylvania Historical Museum Commission and that different record types have distinct retention schedules. "Whenever you wanna get rid of physical records, you have to go through this process that's governed by the Pennsylvania Historical Museum Commission of all things," the solicitor said. He noted that some records — typically legal matters and records of borough counsel — cannot be disposed of and that the borough must confirm retention periods before authorizing destruction.

When asked whether the records would be digitized, the solicitor replied that in this case they would not be converted to digital form. Committee members recorded the motion as a 2‑0 decision in the meeting transcript.

The transcript does not list which specific record series were approved for disposal, nor does it specify financial savings from reducing storage costs; the solicitor noted the borough pays for offsite storage and that clearing unneeded records reduces that expense.