A little different view than John.  

Here's my thought- the records BELONG to the organization, they are the
information assets of the user departments. Typically they know what the
business need is, but as John said, they need to justify (to a degree) the
need. 

As the RM, you are the custodial caregiver and expert witness about how
policy and practices are followed across the organization.  It's critical
for you to ensure that CONSISTENT practices are applied whenever possible,
and if its' ONE organization only that pushes back, then it's a good idea to
ask for hard justifications. 

That said, evaluate a few things- the volume of the record series they want
to retain longer, any UNDUE risks associated with the content, documented
use patterns, other options (imaging for longer retention/reference, offsite
storage or  billing back for storage/service for longer retention).

As Tom suggested, definitely request approval from one (or two) layers
further up the food chain before agreeing, and if your retention schedule
has a legal or risk review prior to approval, cite the research you've done
when the schedule is submitted to them for approval. 

One thing to keep in mind is YOUR name isn't the final one granting the
approval for deviation from the schedule, so if there is a discovery risk
later, or if there's an "I told you so" if they ARE discarded and needed,
it's not going to fall on your head... and you won't be the one wearing the
orange jumpsuit.

Larry
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