Information Technology Policy Manual 2022

P URPOSE The purpose of this policy is to establish procedures for public records retention for email records in accordance with the General Records Schedule for Local Government Agencies and the Program Records Schedule for Local Government Agencies issued by the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources. Each department has a copy of the schedules or the schedules can be found on the Internet at https://www.greensboro-nc.gov/home/showdocument?id=41872. If there is a question as to whether a document is open to the public, please consult your departmental representative for Public Records Retention or confer with the City of Greensboro’s Legal Department. S COPE Electronic mail (email) has become a common method of communicating both internally within the organization and externally to citizens, vendors and the public at large. The public records laws of North Carolina require that all business related emails must be retained for legal, regulatory, and/or operational reasons. North Carolina’s Public Records law requires that public records in all formats be managed in a manner that protects their integrity and allows public inspection and copying. Except for public records that are retained in office permanently, such as the minutes of City Council, the City may destroy public records, both physical and digital, after the records are retained for the correct time periods in the records retention schedules published by the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources. The City of Greensboro is committed to best business practice and upholding the laws and regulations that govern its operation. Relevant Laws and Regulations The following local, federal, and industry laws, regulations, and directives have affected the development of this e-mail archiving and retention policy: • N.C.G.S. 132-1 et seq. and N.C.G.S. 121-5 P OLICY What Shall Be Archived • Any e-mail message deemed a “business record” shall be archived and retained for a specified period of time. A business record is any print or electronic document created and maintained in the ordinary course of business. However, not every e-mail message constitutes a business record that must be kept. An e-mail and any of its attachments should be retained if it documents business activities and has administrative, fiscal, legal, or historical value, or it is the sole copy of the information. This includes, for example, job offers, contract negotiations where final pricing is set, or a policy memo. It does not include, for example, received copies of policy memos where an original already exists; communications received from professional listservs and mailing lists; or non-business correspondence. • Any e-mail that is required by law to be stored for legal reviews and/or audits will also be archived and retained for as long as the law demands. These messages will also be disposed of in accordance with the General Records Schedule for Local Government Agencies and the Program Records Schedule for Local Government Agencies issued by the NC Department of Natural and Cultural Resources. • Any and all archived e-mails will be tagged with metadata in order to make e-mail headers, content, attachments, and text fully searchable. In addition, the City of Greensboro will deploy and maintain software applications that support the archiving and search ability of stored e-mail messages. As such, the City of Greensboro’s IT Department supports the

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Email Retention and Disposition Policy