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Record-digitization contract proposed; commissioners pause to request security and retention details
Summary
County staff presented a proposal to digitize and index county paper records (estimated ~789 boxes); some commissioners raised questions about retention law compliance, chain-of-custody, shredding policies and ongoing storage costs and the board agreed to table final approval pending answers.
Carroll County staff presented a vendor proposal on Sept. 22 to scan and index county paper records, estimated in the presentation at roughly 789 boxes (about 2 million pages). The project would scan terminated HR files and other archived boxes, provide searchable electronic text, and (per the proposal in the packet) could include shredding of paper copies after digitization.
Several commissioners asked for clarification before approving the roughly $239,853 contract amount. Questions focused on adherence to the statutory record-retention schedule, chain-of-custody and custody controls, background checks and fingerprinting for vendor personnel, where and how digital copies would be stored and secured, and any ongoing storage or server costs for maintained digital records. Commissioners emphasized that some records (for example, minutes) have indefinite retention and should not be destroyed without careful review.
County staff confirmed the vendor conducts background checks and that the delegation had previously appropriated $233,000 for the program. Staff said the vendor invoices as work progresses and that the full contract proposal in the packet included details on vendor security practices; several commissioners asked to receive those details in writing and to confirm which records would be eligible for purging. The board tabled the final vote on the agreement to allow staff to provide the additional documentation and to ensure compliance with retention law.
No shredding or data destruction will proceed until commissioners review and approve the retention and security plans, staff said. The board indicated it will revisit the item once the outstanding questions are answered and the proposed timeline, scope and invoicing approach are clarified.
