(A) Definition. For the purpose of this section, the following definition shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.
DOCUMENTS IN ELECTRONIC MAIL FORMAT. Records as defined by R.C. § 149.43 when their content relates to the business of the office. E-mail is to be treated in the same fashion as records in other formats and should follow the same retention schedules.
(B) Private e-mail accounts holding public records. Records in private e-mail accounts used to conduct public business are subject to disclosure, and all employees or representatives of the village are instructed to retain their e-mails that relate to public business and to copy them to their business e-mail accounts and/or to the village’s records custodian.
(C) Duties of the records custodian in managing private account e-mails. The records custodian is to treat the e-mails from private accounts as records of the public office, filing them in the appropriate way, retaining them per established schedules, and making them available for inspection and copying in accordance with R.C. § 149.43, also known as the Public Records Act.
(Ord. 09-19, passed 12-29-2009)