County reviews draft records-retention policy and schedule; committee to refine legal holds, elected-official authority and IT oversight

Chris Whitaker, a consultant with Iron Mountain, presented a draft Oklahoma County records retention policy and accompanying retention schedule to the Policy and Governance Committee on Oct. 13, outlining definitions, roles, retention triggers and next steps for adoption.

The nut graf: Committee members and department representatives discussed several substantive policy decisions the draft must reflect before final approval — including which body issues records-management policies, how elected officials may retain records beyond statutory minimums, who may issue legal holds, standards for disposing of sensitive records (including CJIS-covered materials), and a plan to create or re-establish an Oklahoma County Information Technology Council (OCITC) to coordinate IT and records oversight.

Whitaker said the schedule is “a living, breathing dynamic sort of document,” and walked the committee through the draft’s main sections: purpose and scope; definitions of records, official records and nonrecords; roles and responsibilities; records life-cycle…