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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2128-26 Records ManagementCOUNTY OF NEWELL IN THE PROVINCE OF ALBERTA BYLAW 2128-26 A Bylaw of the County of Newell, in the Province ofAlberta, pursuant to provisions of the Municipal Government Act, R.S.A. 2000, c. M-26, and any amendments thereto, to provide regulations and procedures for the creation, retention and disposal of Municipal records. WHEREAS it is the desire of the Council of the County of Newell to provide for regulations with respect to the creation, retention and disposal of records kept by the Municipality; AND WHEREAS under the aufhority and subject to the provisions of the Electronic Transactions Act, RSA 2001, c.E-5.5 as amended, the municipality has the authority to create, record, transmit„ or store information in digital form or any other intangible form by electronic, magnetic, or opticai means, or any other means that have similar capabilities, recordings, transmission, or storage. AND WHEREAS it is the desire of the Municipality to establish the necessary authority to release Municipal records to the Provincial Archives of Alberta on either a permanent loan or retention basis; AND WHEREAS the authority for such regulations and authorities must be consistent with Federal or Provincial Statutes and regulations; NOW THEREFORE, the Council of the County of Newell duly assembled, enacts as follows: TITLE a. This Bylaw may be referred to as the "RECORDS MANAGEMENT BYLAW." 2. DEFINITIONS a. "Active° means a readily accessible record related to current, ongoing, or in-process activities and referred to regularly to respond to day-to-day operational requirements. b. "Archival" means those records that have been determined to have sufficient enduring administrative, legal, fiscal, historical or other value to warrant their continued preservation. See also PERMANENT. c. "ATIA" means the Access to Information Act, Statutes of Alberta, 2024, chapter A- 1.4; d. "CAO" means the Chief Administrative Officer of the County of Newell, or his designate. e. "Confidential" means any record that: i. contains personal information about an individual; ii. third party, commercial, financial, scientific, or technical information supplied either explicitly or implicitly in confidence; or Bylaw 2128-26 Records Management Page 2 iii. other sensitive information as described in the Access to lnformation Act, SA 2024, c A-1.4, as amended or replaced. Confidential records are accessible only to a specific function group or role on an as-needed basis if required for their work and may result in significant harm to the organization and/or individuals if compromised or disclosed inappropriately. f. "Councii" means the Council of the County of Newell. g. "County" means the County of Newell. h. "Data Derived from Personal Information" means, as defined by the Protection of Privacy Act, data i. Created by data matching and ii. That identifies any individual whose personal information was used in the data matching. i. "Data Matching" means, as defined by the Protection of Privacy Act, linking personal information between two or more databases or other electronic sources of information. j. "Destruction Notice" means a form to be completed and signed by the head of the department responsible for making decisions regarding the records to be destroyed. k. "Digital Record" means a record that is carried by an electrical conductor and requires the use of electronic equipment to be understood. "Disposition" means the removal of records from operational systems and should be applied to records on a systematic and routine basis, in the course of normal business activity and can include destruction or the transfer of records of enduring value to archives. No disposition action should take place without the assurance that the record is no longer required, that no work is outstanding and no litigation or investigation is current or pending which would involve relying on the record as evidence. m. "Electronic Document and Records Management System" (EDRMS) means an automated system used to manage, protect, and preserve records from creation to disposition. These systems maintain appropriate contextual information (metadata) and enable organizations to access, use and dispose of records (i.e., their retention, destruction, or transfer) in a managed, systematic, and auditable way in order to ensure accountability, transparency, and meet departmental business objectives. n. "Employee" means any person who is employed by the County of Newell, a volunteer, or a service provider. o. "Inactive" means a record no longer needed to conduct current business that is preserved until it meets the end of its retention period. p. "Internal" means the security classification applied to information, records, and data available within the County's EDRMS for all employees and which may result in moderate harm to the organization and/or individuals if compromised or disclosed inappropriately. Bylaw 2128-26 Records Management Page 3 q. "Metadata" means the structured information that describes, explains, Iocates, or otherwise makes it easier to retrieve, use, or manage information resources. r. "Officiai Record" means a record that is required to support business operations, to document and provide evidence of business transactions, are required by legislation, protect the rights of citizens and the government, provide evidence of compliance with accountability or other business requirements, or will have some future business, legal, research, or archival value. s. "Non-Personal Data" is defined in the is defined in the Protection of Privacy Act, SA 2024, c P-28.5 as data, including data derived from personal information, that has been generated, modified or anonymized so that it does not identify any individual, and includes synthetic data and any other type of non-personal data identified in the regulations. t. "PermanenY' means those records that have been determined to have sufficient enduring administrative, legal, fiscal, historical or other value to warrant their continued preservation. SeealsoARCHIVAL. u. "Personal Information" is defined in the Protection of Privacy Act, SA 2024, c P-28.5 and the Access to Information Act, SA 2024, c A-1.4, as recorded information about an identifiable individual, including i. the individual's name, home or business address, home or business telephone number, home or business email address, or other contact information, except where the individual has provided the information on behalf of the individual's employer or principal in the individual's capacity as an employee or agent, ii. the individual's race, national or ethnic origin, colour or religious or political beliefs or associations, iii. the individual's age, gender identity, sex, sexual orientation, marital status or family status, iv. an identifying number, symbol or other particular assigned to the individual, v. the individual's fingerprints, other biometric information, blood type, genetic information or inheritable characteristics, vi. information about the individual's health and health care history, including information about the individual's physical or mental health, vii. information about the individual's educational, financial, employment or criminal history, including criminal records where a pardon has been given, viii. anyone else's opinions about the individual, and ix. the individual's personal views or opinions, except if they are about someone else; Bylaw 2128-26 Records Management Page 4 v. "POPA" means the Protection of Privacy Act, Statues of Alberta, 2024, chapter P-28.5; w. "Public" means the security classification applied to information, records, and data that, if compromised, will not result in harm. Public information is accessible to all employees and is generally available to the public either via the County of Newell website or upon request. x. "Record" means information created, received, and maintained as evidence and as an asset, in pursuit of legal obligations or in the transaction of business, stored in any manner including electronically that is in the custody and control of the County of Newell. It does not include software or mechanisms that produce records. y. "Records Coordinator" means the person in charge of maintaining the Records Classification System and organizing retention and disposition of records. z. "Restricted" means the security classification applied to information, records, and data that is accessible oniy to named individual(s) or specific positions on an as-needed basis for their work, subject to administrative controls and would result in serious harm to the organization and/or individuals if compromised or disclosed inappropriately. aa. "Retention Period" means the total length of time a record must be kept before final disposition is implemented. bb. "Retention Schedule" means the timetable that identifies the retention period during which a record must be retained before disposition and is set forth in Schedule A. cc. "Transitory" means records that have only temporary usefuiness or are required only for a limited period oftime, including but not limited to temporary information, duplicate documents, draft documents, pubiications, advertising material, and blank information media. 3. GENERAL a. The official record of the County of Newell is the digital record. b. The County of Newell believes that its records and information are critical, valuable resources and that these resources should be protected, preserved, and safeguarded from unauthorized use. c. All employees must ensure that any records they create, receive, or use are managed and controlled in accordance with the County's Records & Information Management Program. d. The Records Coordinator will work with departments to ensure compliance with Records & Information Management procedures. e. The Records Coordinator will maintain an accurate index of all corporate records, including those that have been destroyed, those that have been referred to the Provincial Archives, and those that are held at other archival centers. Bylaw 2128-26 Records Management Page 5 � The CAO will ensure that the records are kept safe as pe s208(1)(b). bylaws and minutes of Council meetings and all other the Municipal Government Act, RSA 2000, c M-26, g. The CAO will ensure that accurate records and accounts are kept of the financial affairs of the County. RECORDS CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM/RETENTION & DISPOSITION SCHEDULE a. The Records Coordinator maintains the Records Classification System/Retention & Disposition Schedule (Schedule A). Schedule A is attached to this bylaw for reference purposes. b. A current version of Schedule A will be retained at all times in the County of Newell's EDRMS. c. The Records Ciassification System/Retention & Disposition Schedule ensures that records are filed consistently to allow for ease of retrieval, maintained for the time required to meet their operational, legal, fiscal, and archival requirements, and disposed of in a timely manner when no longer needed. d. Departmental managers who wish to implement a new or substantial change to an existing Records Classification, its retention period, and/or its disposition action will be required to submit a Records Inventory request which will be reviewed by the Records & Information Governance (RIG) Committee. e. Employees are required to follow the schedules outlined in the Records Classification System/Retention & Disposition Schedule (Schedule A). f. Where it is provided in this Bylaw and in Records Classification System/Retention & Disposition Schedule (Schedule A), records of the County shall be: DESTROYED Such records, in consultation with the appropriate department, shall be destroyed without ANY copy thereof being retained. ii. PERMANENT Such original records shall be permanently retained, preserved, and never destroyed, except where the originals have been recorded in a format that ailows for copies of the originals to be made. iii. ARCHIVED Such records shall be released either to the Provincial Archives or other local archives upon decision and direction of Council. A copy of the transferred records index shall be permanently retained on file. Bylaw 2128-26 Records Management Page 6 5. ARCHIVES/INACTIVE STORAGE a. When records are identified as inactive, they will be stored in a secure, accessible, and controlled manner until all operational, legal, fiscal, or archival requirements have been fulfilled. b. The department that creates and manages the records is responsible for transferring records to the vault, when necessary. c. The inactive records must be packed in clearly labelled boxes prior to their transfer to inactive storage. 6. RECORDS DISPOSITION a. If an individual's personal information will be used by the County of Newell to make a decision that directly affects the individual, the personal information must be retained for at least one year after using it. b. Records that are scheduled for destruction that are responsive to a current, ongoing, or impending Access to Information (ATI) request must be retained for a period of one (1) year after the ATI request file has been closed. c. When records have met their retention requirements in accordance with the Records Classification System/Retention & Disposition Schedule (Schedule A), the disposition process will be implemented. d. The Records Coordinator will ensure that records destined for disposition are handled in an appropriate, timely, and secure manner to ensure that confidential information is protected. e. The manager of the department that is responsible for the records shall approve of their disposition. f. Destruction of restricted records shall be carried out in the presence of a witness. This applies to both physical and electronic records. g. Upon destruction of the records, both the person destroying the records and the witness shall sign the Destruction Notice. h. The Records Coordinator is responsible for keeping the completed Destruction Notices in the County's EDRMS i. Transitory records can be disposed of at any time when they no longer serve any valid purpose. All transitory records are authorized to be routinely destroyed without requiring a completed Destruction Notice. Transitory records containing potentially confidential information shall be disposed of in a manner such that any confidential information is obliterated. Bylaw 2128-26 Records Management Page 7 j. The CAO shall always have the discretion to retain records longer than the period provided for in this Bylaw and shall do so where the CAO deems it appropriate and shall do so where the CAO has received an indication that there is or may be any litigation involving any of the said records. Such decisions to retain records longer than the period provided for herein shall be recorded in the records retention index. k. The CAO may authorize the destruction of original documents in accordance with Schedule A provided that the original has been recorded in an Electronic Document and Records Management System (EDRMS) or on another system that will enable copies of the original to be made. SEVERABILITY a. It is the intention of Council that each separate provision of this Bylaw shall be deemed independent of all other provisions herein and it is the further intention of Council that if any provision of this Bylaw is declared invalid, aIl other provisions hereof shall remain valid and enforceable. 8. EFFECTIVE DATE a. This Bylaw comes into effect on the final date of passing and rescinds Bylaw 1993-20. May 21, 2026 MOVED BY COUNCILLOR BEN HOFER that Bylaw 2128-26 receive FIRST reading. MOTION CARRIED May 21, 2026 MOVED BY COUNCILLOR GREG SKRIVER that Bylaw 2128-26 receive SECOND reading. MOTION CARRIED May21,2026 MOVED BY COUNCILLOR DAN BAUMGARTEN that consent be given for Bylaw 2128-26 to receive third reading this 21St day of May, 2026. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY May 21, 2026 MOVED BY COUNCILLOR LYNETTE KOPP that Bylaw 2128-26 receive THIRD and FINAL reading. MOTION CARRIED ,,� G����""� ���--�,,..�Q• � R eve—ArnoDoerksen ChiefAdministrativeOfficer—MattFenske Bylaw 2128-26 Records Management Page 8 SCHEDULE A RECORDS CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM/RETENTION & DISPOSITION SCHEDULE Schedule A does not form a part of this bylaw but is attached to this bylaw for reference purposes. It is accessible in the County's Lase�che repository in the following Folder: Newell\Records & Information Management\ Bylaw 1993-20 Schedule A- Classification Structure-Retention & Disposition Schedule