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Council adopts records retention policy; email retention left for staff follow‑up
Summary
Council approved a records and information management policy and updated retention schedule but directed staff to return with specifics on email retention and operational procedures; consultants and IT will work with the town manager to clarify whether email should be separately scheduled.
The council approved a new records and information management policy and updated retention schedule as part of the consent calendar on Feb. 10, while asking staff to clarify technical questions around email retention.
Councilmember Wall and others asked whether email is covered under the policy and how deletion practices operate. Town Manager Ledbetter and the consultant explained that email was discussed during the policy process, that the policy references email communications, but that staff had not yet set a discrete retention schedule for email and would follow up with IT and the town attorney.
Consultant Mr. Meyer noted emails can be made into formal records (for example by saving them to Laserfiche or creating a PDF) and that most individual emails remain transitory unless converted. Council asked staff to return with a memo detailing whether deleted email is retained in backups and to propose a specific retention schedule or operational guidance.
The consent agenda otherwise passed (including the register of demands). Councilmember Gold noted the policy and future work on operational rollout with staff augmentation and a proposed spring clean of redundant files.
