Title
COUNCIL ITEM OF SPECIAL INTEREST: EMAIL RETENTION
Staff Contact and Presenter: Julie K. Bower, City Clerk
end
Purpose and Recommended Action
Recommendation [enter the recommendation here]
This item is follow up to a Council item of Special Interest (CIOSI) by Councilmember Turner and Vice Mayor Hugh related to length of retention for the City's email.
body
Background
At the September 6, 2016 City Council Workshop, Councilmember Turner, with support from Vice Mayor Hugh, requested the City Clerk review the retention policy for emails and other documents and bring the information forward for Council to review. Staff determined there were three phases to the project:
* Phase 1 - Collect, review and analyze state and national data regarding email retention. Investigate and determine if there are agencies that provide standards and recognition for organizational transparency. Analyze electronic document management systems (EDMS) which would efficiently manage email based on its content. Analyze the cost of storage if the length of retention is increased and the cost of a possible EDMS.
* Phase 2 - Implement an EDMS that would assist staff with the storage and retrieval of important email communications as well as all other City documents.
* Phase 3 - Develop and provide training to City staff regarding how to determine if email messages are subject to longer retention and provide training in the use of the EDMS.
At its December 20, 2016 Workshop, Council provided staff with direction to proceed with Phase 1 of the email retention project.
Analysis
Survey Results
The Clerk's Office surveyed 15 states and 17 cities and towns. The survey found that email records were not treated differently than other records and it was the content of the email that determined the length of retention.
The retention of email on email servers varied greatly. Email was retained for periods as short as 30 days and as long as 3 years, for an average reten...
Click here for full text