North Ridgeville records commission approves revised retention schedules, consolidates mayor's office files

NORTH RIDGEVILLE — The North Ridgeville Records Commission on Dec. 1, 2025, approved a package of revised records-retention schedules affecting mayor's court, the mayor's office, the building department and the police department.

Records staff (Speaker 2) told the commission the changes align city practice with new retention guidance released in September by the Ohio Supreme Court for local and state courts. "25 years was actually 1 of the, the time frames that was actually allowed," Speaker 2 said when describing the proposed retention period for consolidated criminal-offense records from traffic offenses to felonies and misdemeanors.

The commission approved the mayor's court schedule after staff explained the consolidation of offense categories and why some items previously listed separately are now held with docket files. The commission also approved a new mayor's office schedule that, according to staff, merges records previously listed under the now-defunct safety service director position into the mayor's office schedule to eliminate redundancy.

Commission members asked several record-location and custody questions during the mayor's office discussion. One member (Speaker 3) asked why cash and check deposit records appeared on the mayor's-office schedule when the finance department also retains deposit documentation; Records staff said the mayor's-office copies are likely administrative permit/payment copies while finance keeps the official records. When asked about employee grievances, staff said originals should be in the employee human-resources file and that the law department maintains copies; staff committed to confirming where originals are kept.

Changes for the building department were procedural: contractor certificates of insurance, performance bonds and contractor registrations will move from paper to the city's permanent electronic software, reflecting recent contractor-registration legislation and the department's digital migration.

The commission spent notable time on police records. Records staff said some legacy "master name index" cards — paper index cards formerly stored at the water tower that listed basic incident metadata — now duplicate information held in modern digital systems. Citing guidance from the Ohio History Connection, staff recommended reclassifying those index cards from "permanent" retention to a 25-year retention so the police department may dispose of obsolete cards while retaining records with ongoing administrative or legal value. Speaker 2 clarified that the schedule change references social-media postings and not body-worn-camera evidence.

After discussion the commission moved and approved each schedule. Chair (Speaker 1) called for motions and the commission recorded the respective votes for each item during the meeting.

Votes at a glance: - Mayor's court retention schedule — approved (mover: Speaker 4; second: Speaker 3; explicit recorded yes responses in the transcript: Speaker 3, Speaker 1). - Mayor's office retention schedule (including consolidation of safety service director RC 2) — approved (mover/second not clearly attributable in the transcript; recorded yes responses included Speaker 1). The commission separately moved and approved removal of the safety service RC 2 (mover: Speaker 3; second: Speaker 1). - Building department retention changes (paper-to-electronic) — approved (mover/second not clearly attributable in the transcript; recorded yes responses included Speaker 2 and Speaker 1). - Police department retention schedule (including 25-year recommendation for legacy master index cards) — approved (mover: Speaker 4; second: Speaker 1; recorded yes responses in the transcript include Speaker 1).

What happens next: Records staff will forward the commission's approvals to the state auditors, who will review RC designations and confirm whether items designated "permanent" should instead be retained for 25 years or otherwise reclassified. Staff said they expect the auditor review to accept the 25-year recommendation for the legacy police index cards but noted the auditors make the final determination.

The commission adjourned the meeting and noted its next meeting will be in June.