Because state law requires all public bodies to maintain records, city officials must understand and comply with the law. However, with technology changing at lightning pace, it can sometimes be confusing as to what records should be permanently kept and how to store them.
It doesn't matter whether the information comes in paper, data, recording or email form. It is the content, not the format, that determines whether a record needs to be saved, according to Bryan Collars, electronic records and imaging supervisor for the SC Department of Archives and History.
The Public Records Act authorizes SCDAH staff to advise public bodies in records management procedures.
The Act defines public records as "any record created by a "public body," any department of the state, any state board, commission, agency, and authority, any public or governmental body or political subdivision of the state, including counties, municipalities, townships, school districts, and special purpose districts, or any organization, corporation, or agency supported in whole or in part by public funds or expending public funds, including committees, subcommittees, advisory committees, and the like of any such body by whatever name known, and includes any quasi-governmental body of the state and its political subdivisions, including, without limitation, bodies such as the South Carolina Public Service Authority and the South Carolina Ports Authority."
The Act requires the chief administrative officer of any agency, political subdivision or public body to serve as the legal custodian of the public records. This person may appoint a records officer to create, file or keep those public records. Failure to fulfill those duties is a misdemeanor offense with penalties ranging from $200 to $5,000.
Keeping electronic records poses unique challenges-mainly that they can be stored on outdated hardware or software. Municipalities need to be aware that "when they upgrade hardware or software, they need to ensure that records of permanent value are migrated to up-to-date formats," Collars said. The records should be saved using software with an independent or ubiquitous file format for preservation, he said, such as PDF files which everyone can open.
Social media
In terms of social media, there is no consensus on whether social media is considered a public record. Across the country, some archivists consider social media posts to be records, but Collars thinks social media just serves as a disseminator of information.
"We as an agency do not have the means to archive it," he said.
In addition, messages on social media sites like Facebook and Twitter do not belong to the entities posting them. They belong to those social media providers and are housed on their servers. These private companies do not fall under the same requirements for archiving and maintaining records as public agencies, Collars said.
Email
At the municipal level, the retention decision on correspondence (which applies to email) is determined by subject matter. There are three categories at that level that correspondence is broken down into: (1) policy and program records; (2) general administrative records; and (3) general housekeeping files. Of these three subject categories only the first warrants permanent retention.
"If an email is received that contains an actual record, we suggest that the record either be printed to paper and filed with the associated paper record file, or, if there is an electronic file for retaining the record, then the email document/information must be copied into the electronic file and be retained there for the length of time specified in the state Records Retention Schedule," explained Carolyn Smith, records and information management analyst for SCDAH.
After records have met the required retention periods stated in the records retention schedules, the entity can destroy them. In accordance with the Public Records Act, all destruction of records must be reported to the Archives.
Municipal officials can contact Archives staff directly with any questions concerning records retention. SCDAH has information on general retention schedules for municipal records, as well as forms to report records destruction, available on its website at scdah.sc.gov.
The South Carolina Department of Archives and History staff will provide training on records retention, including electronic records, at the Municipal Finance Officers, Clerks and Treasurers Association Spring Academy on April 2 in Columbia.
MFOCTA, an affiliate of the Municipal Association, is an organization dedicated to offering educational and networking opportunities to its members through meetings, a training institute and listserve.