4.1 ERMUSR 03-13-2018 - Laserfiche WebLink

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GENERAL RECORDS RETENTION SCHEDULE FOR MINNESOTA CITIES Purpose of the General Records Retention Schedule The purpose of a records retention schedule is to provide a plan for managing government records by giving continuing authority to dispose of records under Minnesota Statutes section 138.17. This City General Records Retention Schedule establishes minimum retention periods for city records based on their administrative, fiscal, legal and historical value. It lists records series common to cities and identifies how long to retain them. This schedule was originally developed by the Minnesota State Department of Administration, Information Policy Analysis Division and the Minnesota Historical Society, Division of Archives and Manuscripts and was funded in part by a grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission. The revised schedule was updated by city clerks and officials representing the Minnesota Clerks and Finance Officers Association (MCFOA). Adopting and Using the General Schedule 1. A city that has adopted the previous version of this general schedule does not need to notify the Minnesota Historical Society that it is adopting this revised edition of the General Records Retention Schedule for Cities. It will be assumed that cities that have adopted the previous version will now utilize this revised version. If you have not previously adopted the general schedule, to begin disposing of records, you must notify the State Archives of the Minnesota Historical Society that your city has adopted the schedule. The enclosed form, "Notification of Adoption of City General Records Retention Schedule", is used for this purpose. 2. You may adopt the schedule even though your office may not have all the records listed on it. We recommend that you adopt the entire schedule. However, if this is not possible you may adopt individual sections. 3. The Minnesota Historical Society will sign and return the Notification form to you. You will then have the authority to dispose of your government records as indicated on the schedule. 4. Compare the records in your office with the records listed on the schedule. Retention periods listed on the schedule represent the minimum length of time that you must retain your records. Once that retention period has been reached you may destroy the records as indicated on the schedule. If you need to retain some records series longer than the listed retention, you should establish an agency policy for those records. 5. The retention stated on the schedule applies to any form of the record (paper, computer tape or disk, microfilm, optical disk, electronic media, etc.). 6. Data Practices Classifications are effective as of the printing of this Retention Schedule. Because data practices issues change regularly, classifications may have changed. For current information on data practices, consult Minnesota State Statutes, Chapter 13, or call the State of Minnesota, Department of Administration, Information Policy Analysis Division at 651-296-6733 or 1-800-657- 3721. 46