(a) Municipal Records Commission.
(1) City of Portsmouth created and maintains a records commission composed of the chief executive or the chief executive's representative, as chairperson, and the chief fiscal officer, the chief legal officer, and a citizens appointed by the chief executive per Ohio Revised Code Section 149.39.
(2) The Records Commission shall meet at least once every six (6) months and upon call of the chairperson.
(3) The functions of the Records Commission shall be to provide rules for retention and disposal of records of the municipal corporation and to review applications for one-time disposal of obsolete records, and schedules of records retention and disposition submitted by municipal offices.
(4) The Records Commission may review any record retention schedule previously approved and may revise schedules and update them for good cause shown.
(b) Records Disposal Procedures.
(1) No record may be disposed of when subject to or likely to be subject to current or pending litigation, claim or proceeding.
(2) When the Portsmouth Records Commission has approved a municipal office application for one-time disposal of obsolete records or a schedule of records retention and disposition, the commission shall send that application or schedule to the Ohio Historical Society (OHS) for review.
(3) OHS shall review the application or schedule within sixty (60) calendar days after receipt. Upon completion of its review OHS shall forward the application for one-time disposal of obsolete records or the schedule of records retention and disposition to the Auditor of State for the Auditor's approval or disapproval.
(4) The Auditor shall approve or deny the application or schedule within sixty (60) calendar days after receipt.
(5) Records considered transitory in nature with durations listed as "Until no longer of administrative value" may be disposed without certification notice to the Ohio Historical Society. Such record series are noted on the OHS approved Record Retention schedule as "No RC-3."
(6) Before eligible public records are to be disposed, the Portsmouth Records Commission shall inform the OHS of the disposal through the submission of a Certificate of Records Disposal (RC-3) and shall give OHS the opportunity for a period of fifteen (15) business days to select for its custody those public records that it considers to be of continuing historical value.
(7) Disposition schedules noted as "until audited" and “provided audited” denotes audits performed by the Auditor of the State or other contracted independent auditors.
(8) The Ohio Historical Society may not review or select for its custody any records pursuant to Ohio Revised Code Section 149.43; providing confidentiality of public records.
(9) Records of possible historic value will be offered to the Portsmouth Historical Society in lieu of destruction and upon approval of City Council. If accepted, records will be accessed, used and disposed as determined by the policies and procedures of the Portsmouth Historical Society unless other arrangements are agreed upon. .
(10) Records approved for disposal may be shredded, boxed or bailed for recycling. All bound books or records unable to be recycled will be burned at a municipal site or otherwise disposed of as approved by the chief executive. (Ord. 2015-14. Passed 4-13-15.)