Managing Public Records

for Local Government Agencies

Vital Records Protection

Another category of records within your office is vital (or essential) records. Vital records are those records that are necessary to re-start an organization's operations in the event of a natural or human-made disaster.

Vital records also

• Support critical, vital, necessary and desired services
• Preserve the legal, financial, and/or functional status of the agency
• Protect and fulfill obligations to citizens of the state
• Identify unique records

In the corporate world, natural or human-made disasters sometimes mean that businesses are not able to re-start because they have lost the very records that would enable them to continue.  In local government, we can help you identify which records are vital to your office and we will help you with a plan to protect the essential records that both your agency and the citizens whom your agency serves need.

 

Examples of potential Vital Records

Accounts Receivable	Contracts	Loans
Agreements	Directives	Permits
Audits	Financial statements	Payroll records
Blueprints	Grants	Personnel records
Board minutes	Leases	Project files
Case files	Licenses	Tax returns

 

Assess your knowledge of Vital records by answering this true/false Self Check question.

 

Value: 1

Non-permanent records, such as personnel records, are considered vital records. True False

toc | return to top | previous page | next page