Cheverly council debates email retention and archiving as records-retention motion fails

Cheverly town staff reviewed a proposed records-retention policy covering administrative, financial, land and human-resources records and the retention schedule for emails. The council debated whether to defer the item for additional archival review; the motion to defer failed because it did not receive four affirmative votes.

"Each email is kept for five years from the date of a reply," Town Administrator Delaine Galloway explained, saying the town's IT provider stores messages and staff maintain access via OneDrive. Resident Sheila Sala urged stronger archiving and questioned what happens when litigation requires records to be preserved; Galloway said staff can place an ediscovery hold on relevant records to prevent their destruction.

Councilmember Leglowe Heck moved to postpone the records-retention policy to a future meeting after consulting archives experts, arguing he wanted more time to digest and collaborate; Councilmember Tanzi seconded the motion for purposes of debate. Vice mayor expressed concern that the work session is not a voting meeting and suggested an introductory conversation tonight might suffice. When the council called the question, the motion failed for lack of the required votes.

Why it matters: retention schedules determine how the town preserves its official record and how it responds to public-records requests and litigation holds. Residents asked whether archived materials—budgets, audits, master plans—should be maintained on the town website or transferred to the Maryland State Archives for long-term access.

What’s next: staff said the policy can be updated to clarify e-discovery procedures and public-access measures; council directed staff to schedule additional discussion at a future work session this summer.