Managing Public Records

for Local Government Agencies

Values of Public Records

All records are created for some purpose and therefore have a particular kind of value. Records are assigned four kinds of value under records management principles.

Administrative Value

Records with administrative value are the ones that help your office do its work and thereby accomplish the functions for which your office or agency was created.  Occasionally, these records have lasting importance. For example, procedure manuals may be needed to verify how something was done at a certain point. Other administrative records, however, such as purchase orders for red pens, are not needed for a long period of time. Some examples of records with administrative value are: 

• Procedure manuals
• Records schedules
• Memos
• Reports

Fiscal Value

Fiscal records fulfill and document fiscal authorizations, obligations, and transactions and are often subject to audits.  If you believe that it is possible that an audit may take place in the future, do not destroy any records, even if your records schedule says that you may. Once audits have been resolved, fiscal records often lose their value rapidly. Some examples of records with fiscal value are:

• Budget records
• Expenditure ledgers
• Credit card reports
• Payroll records

Legal Value

Records with legal value contain evidence of legally enforceable rights or obligations of government or of its citizens and, like fiscal records, can often be subject to official actions such as subpoenas, audits, investigations, or lawsuits. They must be made available if they are requested for litigation. And just as you should not destroy records if you believe there might be an audit, you should not destroy records if you believe there might be a lawsuit filed against your office, even if the records have met their scheduled retention period.

A common example of a record that would fall into this category is a job application.  We routinely schedule the applications for people not hired to be destroyed in office after 3 years, unless there is a discrimination charge pending against those records.  If a charge has been filed, the records must be kept at least until the charge is finally resolved. If you have concerns about some of your records, be sure to bring that up with your records analyst. Some examples of records with legal value are:

• Contracts
• Agreements
• Federal or state statutory or regulatory requirements  

Historical Value

Historical or archival records document significant events, actions, decisions, conditions, relationships, and similar developments.  These records have administrative, legal, fiscal, or evidential importance for the government or its citizens.  Part of DCR's responsibility is to try to ensure that these and other parts of the historical record of this state are preserved.  These records often need greater consideration when planning for long-term access and preservation.  Examples include:

• Marriage bonds and marriage licenses
• Governors' correspondence
• Directors' correspondence
• Agency histories
• Wills
• Land records
• Board minutes

Assess your knowledge of Values of Public Records by answering this multiple choice Quiz Me question.

 

Value: 1

Which of the following best describes the value of a procedure manual? a. Historical Value b. Legal Value c. Administrative Value d. Fiscal Value

 

toc | return to top | previous page | next page