This query is directed toward municipal or county record managers and
archivists whose board, commission and committee minutes are not stored
in a central location...

Our city has approximately 50 public boards or committees, all of whom
are responsible for maintaining minutes of their proceedings, and all of
which must be retained permanently.  My office is trying to get a handle
on who is taking responsibility for storing and maintaining these
minutes and to develop better policy and training to ensure that the
city is meeting its statutory responsibilities for keeping and retaining
those minutes.

Most of the major boards file their minutes with my office and/or store
them in their administrative offices.  There aren't any problems (so far
that I have seen) with Aldermanic, School, Zoning, Planning or Public
Works Board minutes, for example.  It's all the "little" committees
(e.g., Ethnic Awareness Committee, Hunt Legacy Speakers' Committee,
Broad Street Parkway Advisory Committee, etc.) that I am concerned
about.  Often they have no direct ties with municipal departments --
hence, no department is taking responsibility for acquiring and
maintaining those minutes.

Nashua does not have central records storage, and my Board of Aldermen
is reluctant to require that ALL minutes be stored in the City Clerk's
Office because: 1) I don't have the space, and 2) most of the minutes
for the larger city boards are being managed quite well now.  It's those
misc. and "little" committee minutes we want to get a handle on.

Would anyone have a policy or ordinance relative to the keeping and
maintaining of minutes within the county or city?  I'd love to see
what's out there so I can pick out some ideas that would resolve the
problem without stepping on the territorial toes of the larger municipal
departments that are doing a good job with their minutes.

Thank you!

Paul R. Bergeron
City Clerk
229 Main Street
Nashua, NH 03060
Telephone: 603/589-3010
Fax: 603/589-3029
http://www.gonashua.com/

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