recordkeeping for councillors allegra huxtable manager government recordkeeping unit tasmanian...
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Recordkeeping for Councillors
Allegra HuxtableManager Government Recordkeeping UnitTasmanian Archive and Heritage Office
Legislative imperative• Archives Act 1983• Local Government Act 1993
Good Governance• Transparency and accountability• Code of conduct• Probity
Good business sense• Comprehensive and accurate records• Business continuity• Consistent delivery of services
Are all Councillors records State records?Not all records are considered State records – but many are.YES
• Councillor’s official Facebook page or Twitter account• Councillors official email• Complaints or requests for assistance from ratepayers &
community• Speech notes for an address at a Council event• Pecuniary declarations
NO
• Records relating to political issues unrelated to Council business
• Personal emails from friends unrelated to Council business
• A Councillor’s personal Facebook page
Yes – forward to Records Staff• Ratepayer communications
• Complaints/compliments• Correspondence (official
business)• Submissions, petitions,
lobbying• Telephone, meetings & other
conversations• regarding LG projects or
business activities• Work diaries containing
information specific to work on behalf of Council
• Presentations and speeches delivered as part of official duties
Which records should be captured?
No – no need to forward• Duplicate copies of Council
meeting agenda, minutes and papers
• Draft documents or working papers already captured by Council
• Publications – newsletters, circulars and journals
• Invitations – where an elected member is NOT representing Council or LG
• Telephone, meetings other conversation where• Information is routine• Does not relate to LG activity
• Electioneering• Personal records unrelated to
official duties
Practical strategies for Councils
• Policy• Include in existing Council Records or Information
Management policy, or develop Councillor-specific • Induction
• Council internal induction• LGAT induction program
• Training and awareness raising• Monitoring/periodic ‘reminders’• Access to refresher recordkeeping training
• Tools• Systems (software/hardware)• Processes and procedures• Templates
• Support mechanisms• Central administrative support• Access to records staff/expertise
Corporate Systems, ‘Appropriate use’ and Access• Email (protocols around use of Councillor’s
corporate email address)• Network drives - secure areas• Provision of office space for Councillor use
within Council building• Mobile devices (phone, iPad, etc.)• Hard copy file management• Systems access – EDRMS systems, other
business systems
Procedures and workflow Consider the development of procedures to guide Councillors and assist with time management. These may include:
• Identifying what records to keep• Responsibility for creation, capture and disposal of
records (who is responsible for what activity)• Capture of hard copy records• Capture of email• Identification of confidential or sensitive information to
Records• Processes for capture of incoming Councillor mail
(paper), including mail marked private/confidential• Emails received through corporate email inbox
addressed to Councillors• Access arrangements• Confidentiality and Information disclosure• Handling and care of Council records• Appropriate authorised disposal (usually via Council’s
Records Team)
What about mobile devices like laptops, iPads, and smartphones?• Develop ‘acceptable use’ policies – these may
be for both email and hardware/software applications
• Develop BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) policy to ensure appropriate management of Council information accessed through provided, or private, mobile solutions
• Deletion of duplicate copies – can this be automated?
• Procedures/instructions in place to manage information
• Capture email correspondence at ‘end’ point in conversation
• capture all ‘sent’ items related to Council business
• Only use Councillor’s corporate email address for Council business & “cc” Council’s corporate email inbox for capture by Records staff
Management of Home Office workspaces?• Procedures in place at induction, and also at
resignation/retirement/termination for Councillors, e.g. Senior officer may need to attend Councillor’s home office to support finalisation of business
• Protocols for home office records management • When / how information needs to be ‘synched’
with, or transferred to, appropriate Council corporate systems
• Hard copy filing requirements • Provision of devices• Provision of media (USB drives, portable hard
drives, etc.). Include usage requirements – encryption or password protection if applicable.
Where to from here…..?
Determine the current situation. What are the current practices/protocols around the management of Councillor records?• Risk analysis of current findings, and mitigations strategies
for identified risk• Ask Records Management and IT staff to develop a project
plan for how to manage Councillor records. Considerations may include:• Policies, procedures, templates and ‘cheat sheets’ or
checklists• Induction programs• Access to Councils corporate systems• Paper file management• BYOD (Bring Your Own Device)• Email management – how does this get to Records staff
or captured?• Home office arrangements• Regular copies of network drives taken and loaded into
EDRMS• Investigate a project to effectively manage Councillor
special projects
Future direction
TAHO has recently commenced work on a number of Local Government specific initiatives to improve recordkeeping awareness and practice, for all Council staff including Councillors.
Initiatives include:• Articles in LGAT quarterly magazine• Training and event information advertised in the LGAT
newsletter• Approaching Local Government organisations (LGMAT,
LGWAT) regarding opportunities for collaboration and awareness
• Dedicated TAHO liaison officers for all LG agencies and enterprises
• Working with LGAT to incorporate recordkeeping awareness elements into formal induction programs
• Recordkeeping Toolkit for Local Government
Questions?
Allegra Huxtable – Manager Government Recordkeeping Unit
P: 03 6165 5580