Karen,

You said "We have never had a retention policy in the 48 years since we
incorporated as a city."
 
I can so help, and that is the greatest thing about this listserv. 

I own a service bureau so I have a little different experience than a lot of
the others. 

Here's the deal, the State Archives have retention schedules already created
for state municipalities and all you need to do is go to  http://www
michigan.gov/documents/hal_mhc_rms_Local_RM_Manual_116243_7.pdf 
and you have your retention schedule which authorizes you by State of
Michigan statutes to perform your records management duties on behalf of the
City or Riverview within the schedules' time frames and specifications.  

The Wyoming State Archives is terrific and I have no reason to believe yours
is any different.  They will help you interpret the record series, store the
items of historic significance or microfilm for your city and help you in
any way they can.  As a guess they will be thrilled to have the opportunity
to work with you and might surprise you with information you would never had
if not for contacting them!   For the things that they can't do for you
there are us service bureaus who will also help you estimate your volumes,
costs, and explore options for presentation to your city manager and
approval by the council.  

Another great resource will be your Association of Municipalities.  Our
Wyoming Association of Municipalities (WAM) sponsors great RIM seminars and
will help you network with other people in City governments who are facing
similar challenges.  

I don't know if Lura is also in a government agency but the State of
Washington Archives will have a records management section that can provide
you with retention schedules for all state government entities and a
Municipalities association for support as well.  If you are in another
industry I can probably help with that too.

I bet I can help you find what you need and that is so cool!
 
I founded my marketing strategy around existing records retention schedules
when I started out - no reason to re-invent the wheel - and what did I find
but all government agencies have them created by their state Archives - so
that's where I started! I market RIM services throughout Wyoming and with
such a small territory when it comes to volume, you have to specialize in
quality but better generalize your target market - so I work with a lot of
different agencies and industries. Any way I can help, just let me know!

 

Janie Wait,  CRM, MBA
President
Director of Marketing
Intermountain Record Center, Inc
3765 Airport Parkway, Casper, WY 82604
PO Box 2770, Mills, WY 82644
 307-265-9553
 307-237-8225
 [log in to unmask]
 www.intermountainrecords.com

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