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HomeMy WebLinkAbout68-19 - Res. Amending Res. 22-18 Personnel Policy Chapter 14.5 Electronic Communications Email Management RESOLUTION NO. CSI A RESOLUTION AMENDING RESOLUTION 22-18 PERSONNEL POLICY—AMENDING CHAPTER 14.5 ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS - E-MAIL MANAGEMENT POLICY WHEREAS, Mason County utilizes various electronic methods of communications within the county and with many citizens, businesses and organizations; and WHEREAS, E-mail messages that meet the definition of a public record must be managed according to approved records retention periods and Mason County has implemented a process to support the proper management of e-mail records; and WHEREAS, Written policy and procedures are required to ensure appropriate management of e-mail messages. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Board of Mason County Commissioners to amend Personnel Policy Chapter 14.5 to include the Mason County E-mail Management Policy, Attachment A. ADOPTED this 23rd day of July 2019. BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS MASON COUNTY, WASHINGTON ATTEST: Kevin Shutty, Ch it CIA e Boar APPROVED AS TO FORM: Rand Neatherli mmissioner 1. _ Tim Whitehea , Chief Deputy Prosecuting Sh�Tras , mmissioner Attorney Attachment A MASON COUNTY Email Management Policy and Procedures Overview Recognizing that e-mail messages that meet the definition of a public record must be managed according to approved records retention periods,Mason County has implemented a process to support the proper management of e-mail records. It is the responsibility of all County employees to manage records according to retention requirements mandated by federal, state and/or local statute, grant agreement, and/or other contractual obligations and Mason County's policies and procedures. Storing every email is not the same as managing public records created and/or received as emails. Such a strategy is unlikely to be sustainable in the long run,will make it harder to locate the public records that do need to be retained and may not be the most efficient use of agency resources. Mason County supports appropriate management of e-mail messages through: • Implementation of an email archiving solutions that provides central storage and access of e-mail messages that meet the definition of a public record. • Development of user procedures and guidelines. • Training for email storage is available to all employees through the Secretary of State hgps://www.sos.wa.gov/archives/recordsmanagement/manaizing= emails.aspx. Please contact your department's records retention staff for assistance. Policy 1. All e-mail messages sent or received that are related to the conduct of County business must be evaluated for the function and content of the record. The function/content of each e-mail message should be evaluated against the following criteria of a public record: • Was the email created in the course of doing County business? • Was the email received for action? • Does the email document County activities, decisions, or actions? • Is the email mandated by statutes or regulations? • Does the email support financial obligations or legal claims? • Does the email communicate County requirements? 2. Email messages that meet the definition of a public record must be managed according to their approved retention period in their native format. https•//www sos.wa.gov/archives/recordsmanagement/localgovernment- records-retention-schedules---alphabetical-list.g x 3. All email messages sent or received from a County email address will be retained for a minimum of 90 days by the County's email system. Last edited 7/17/2019 Page 1 of 2 Attachment A 4. Employees have 90 days from the date an email message was created or received to determine if an email meets the definition of a public record. All emails that are public records must be retained in their native format for their approved records retention period. Retention periods are based on functional use of the information contained in each message. 5. Employees shall place email messages in email storage folders for the appropriate retention period as approved by the Washington State Local Records Committee Records Retention Schedule. The email archiving system will retain email based on folder designation. It is critical to use the appropriate email storage folder. 6. 90 days after the received date, e-mails will be purged from the County's email system(Outlook). E-mails in your in-box will be retained by the county's archiving system(Retain) for two years and deleted e-mails will be retained for one year. This process will purge archived emails that have met their required retention period and junk e-mails. Purged means deleted and unrecoverable. 7. In order to comply with records management requirements and the Washington State Public Records Act(RCW 42.56) email messages that meet the definition of a public record must be stored within technology systems supported by the County. The County's email archiving solution is considered the official system of record for County email messages. Requests for alternative methods for retaining emails must be submitted to the Information Technology Department for approval. 8. The creation of new Microsoft Outlook Personal Storage Table (.pst) files is prohibited. Definitions & References Public Record Information in any format,that has been made by or received by Mason County in connection with the transaction of public business. Transitory Record A public record with minimum retention value. These records can be deleted "as soon as no longer needed for agency business". They are subject to public disclosure while they exist. Non-Record Non-records may be created or maintained by County employees,but do not document the organization,functions,policies,decisions,procedures, operations,or other activities of Mason County. Records Management Requirements RCW 40.14-Preservation and Destruction of Public Records hllp:Hgpps.lep-.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=40.14 WAC 434-662-040-PRESERVATION OF ELECTRONIC PUBLIC RECORDS Agency Duties and Responsibilities: http:Hgpps leg wa gov/WAC/default.aspx?cite=434-662-040 WAC 434-662-150—Preservation of Electronic Public Records:Email Management ft:H=s.leg.wa.gov/WAC/default.aspx?cite=434-662-150 Last edited 7/17/2019 Page 2 of 2