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Municipal Records Committee and Selectmen set minutes retention policy, begin townwide records inventory
Summary
The municipal records committee led a broad discussion with the Selectmen on complying with RSA 33-A, archiving nonpublic minutes, establishing a retention/inventory process for departmental records and set a policy to keep public binder copies of meeting minutes for two years plus the current year.
The Municipal Records Committee and the Board of Selectmen met in joint session to review how Brookfield will implement record-retention requirements under RSA 33-A and to set local procedures for archiving and inventorying town records.
Committee members explained RSA 33-A is the state guideline for retention and disposition of municipal records and that each department must review its files against the RSA schedule. The committee flagged several practical issues discovered while reviewing town holdings: originals of released nonpublic minutes were being kept on an open shelf rather than sent to archives; some departments store substantial paper records that may be duplicates of electronic records; and certain documents (for example, MS forms produced for state reporting) are not clearly covered by the RSA and need local retention determinations.
To address these issues the committee recommended a department-by-department inventory process: two representatives (a selectman and an MRC member) will work with each department to pull records, eliminate duplicate copies, compare holdings to the RSA schedule, and record decisions in a disposition spreadsheet that tracks creation date, retention period and disposal action. Committee members offered to pilot this survey approach with several departments (for example: town clerk, tax collector, treasurer and assessing).
On a specific procedural item Selectmen adopted a retention rule for public-facing binders of meeting minutes: keep two years plus the current year in the public binder on the office bookshelf; originals (signed minutes) are to go to the town archives and a copy posted on the town website. That motion passed on voice vote. The committee also agreed to schedule in-person inventory sessions (two-person teams working with department staff) and to return to the board with a consolidated disposition plan.
Committee and staff stressed the town must decide which records the town will keep beyond the RSA minimums, how to handle digital archivability (PDF/A or other secure formats), and how to document the process so turnover of administrative staff does not disrupt retention procedures. The committee proposed an implementation schedule and follow-up meetings with assessing and other departments to finish inventories and finalize the disposition spreadsheet.
