Here is our policy statement for retention/disposition. It is, by
neccessity, based on requirements set by the State of Virginia. The
procedures referred to are separate documents. If a hold for legal
purposes is necessary, it is placed using the appropriate procedures.


Ginny Jones
(Virginia A. Jones, CRM)
Records Manager
Information Technology Division
Newport News Dept. of Public Utilities
Newport News, VA
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Records Retention Policy

The Records Retention and Disposition Schedule for Waterworks (Appendix
A) reflects the administrative, fiscal, legal, and historical value of
all the records created and maintained by Waterworks, and is
incorporated as part of the Waterworks Records Management Policy.
Retention values assigned to each record group are the minimum time
period the record must be kept.  Records shall not be destroyed prior to
expiration of the assigned retention value.  A record shall not be kept
beyond its official retention period except on a case-by-case basis. For
example, a record may be kept until all current or pending litigation,
claims, or audit exceptions involving a record have been resolved or
concluded.  The schedule will be reviewed and updated periodically to
reflect any changes in pertinent federal, state and local government
laws and regulations, and to reflect any adjustments in administrative
or historical values of the records.

The General Records Retention Schedules for Local Government records as
established by The Library of Virginia (LVA) are the basis for the
official Records Retention and Disposition Schedules adopted by
Waterworks and are included as part of this policy.  The Waterworks
Records Retention Schedule in this policy is designed to list records
types by Division for easier application and understanding.  The office
of "holder of legal copy of record" for Waterworks records is noted on
the Waterworks Records Retention Schedule.

NOTE: (Reference: LVA General Schedule No. 23, Electronic Records)  The
Waterworks Records Retention Schedule provides for the disposition of
electronic records, irregardless[SIC] of format or hardware.  Electronic
records consist of computer tapes and disks, optical disks, and any
other form of magnetic, electronic, or digital recordings and their
associated programs, documentation, manuals or instructions.  In
general, it is the policy of The Library of Virginia that the
disposition of records is the same whatever the format, whether paper,
film, or electronic.

Waterworks is responsible for recopying or "refreshing" electronic
recordings scheduled for long-term retention in accordance with the
expected life of the storage medium, but at least once a year for
magnetic disks or diskettes and at least every 10 years for magnetic
tapes or optical disks.  Waterworks also is responsible for maintaining
the hardware and software necessary to access the data until expiration
of all retention periods or to convert the data into currently available
programs or other types of formats.

Since there are no national standards for permanency of the medium on
which electronic records are maintained and since that medium is not
considered permanent, electronic records are not considered acceptable
for archival storage.  It is recognized that there are constant changes
in electronic records technology.  If or when standards for permanence
of electronic media become a reality, and the medium is judged
permanent, this policy will be re-evaluated and appropriate changes will
be made.  Until that time electronic records appraised as archival must
be converted to paper, microfilm, or another acceptable medium that
meets national standards for permanent archival retention.

Appropriate Waterworks Records Retention Schedules are used to identify
records which are eligible for immediate destruction, and to identify
records which must be retained for a longer period of time but are no
longer active.  Records which are eligible for immediate destruction are
destroyed in accordance with the established Waterworks RECORDS
DESTRUCTION procedures.  Inactive records, which must be retained, are
boxed and sent to Waterworks records storage in accordance with the
established Waterworks RECORDS STORAGE procedures.   Permanent records
are preserved in accordance with the established Waterworks document
preservation program procedures.

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