The following Public comment was read at the State Records Committee regarding how many years email should be required to be kept by local governments like Cedar Hills.
Originally the Committee was considering three years. After considering a three year requirement, the Committee allowed public comment.
Cedar Hills Citizens for Responsible Government (CHCRG) members suggested that with modern technology the need to destroy records to create space no longer exists. The Attorney General’s Office wrote a letter surprising most everyone recommending 7-years. (see Utah Archives Blog posting for May 20, 2014 at http://recordskeepers.wordpress.com )
The following letter from CHCRG was read before the Records Committee at their 9 a.m. meeting June 12, as follows:
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June 12, 2014 – 8:30 a.m.
To the Esteemed Records Committee Members,
Thank you for your thoughtful and generous service to the public as a member of the State Records Committee. Few will ever know or appreciate the time you devote to the cause of promoting “the public’s right of easy and reasonable access to unrestricted public records”. (63G 2-102-3(a))
As you know, Cedar Hills Citizens for Responsible Government, an ad hoc taxpayers group, has struggled in “easily and reasonably” obtaining city business email records from our City, whose 12-month policy of email destruction made our effort to watch our local government incredibly difficult. We may be visiting your Committee again soon, despite 8-months of behind the scenes effort to avoid that need, by working through the Ombudsman to invite the City into mediation on our current GRAMA request. Fortunately, we finally met with the city under her capable mediation last night.
Since last month’s Records Committee Meeting I’ve spent much time thinking about our plight in Cedar Hills surrounding six major resignations including the City Recorder, and the Mayor who plead guilty and went to prison (on non-city issues), as it relates to the Attorney General Office’ 7-year recommendation. These key points jumped out from the AG Office’s proposal:
“We recommend that the retention period for the proposed “Administrative Correspondence” be enlarged from three years to seven years. The reason for this is legal need – to make sure that documents necessary to protect Utah’s interests in future lawsuits are not destroyed prematurely, and to provide greater protection to the state from liability based upon the doctrine of spoliation. …”
The AG Office’s proposal sounds like a plea for help for them to be able to perform their duty to protect the good people of this State, from those who are not. You are in a position to help them with their responsibility to protect us.
Last month I wrote public comment recommending that preserving the email public record permanently would help serve the purpose of encouraging officials away from the temptations so prevalent to those entrusted with public taxpayer treasure. Those comments were highlighted in better detail on your Records Keepers blog which you might consider reading. [ http://recordskeepers.wordpress.com ]
Simply stated, in light of yearly technology jumps that continue to bring down the size and cost, I do not believe that in this modern day, there is any need to destroy the records, and that at some point the Committee will look back and wonder why we ever destroyed records. May I humbly predict that in the near future this Committee will revisit this issue to discuss jumping from the likely-to-be-adopted new AG office seven-year proposal, and see the wisdom of, and vote for, permanent retention.
In the meanwhile, after much thought and consideration I, as a former elected City Councilman of Cedar Hills interested in protecting my fellow taxpayers in Cedar Hills and the State and government officials from themselves, must lend my wholehearted support to the Attorney General Office’s 7-year recommendation and invite you to vote in favor of that recommendation.
Thank You,
Ken Cromar — Researcher
Cedar Hills Citizens for Responsible Government
Former CH Councilman -1994 to 2000
Later that same morning the Committee voted unanimously 7 to 0 in favor of the seven years email retention schedule for municipalities like Cedar Hills. We are gratified.
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