macon county nc north carolina courthouse government
 
   
  Macon County Government
Electronic Records System Policy

 

     
       Mobile Menus   Mobile Menu

PURPOSE:

Records are considered to be the property of Macon County and maintained for the benefit of the agencies use in delivering services and in documenting agencies operations. In keeping with current trends, modern electronic technology is widely used. This electronic imaging record policy reflects guidelines set forth in the North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources publication, North Carolina Guidelines for Managing Public Records Produced by Information Technology Systems. Established guidelines will not only increase the reliability and accuracy of records stored in information technology systems, but also ensures they remain accessible. Established guidelines for reproduced records will likewise enhance their admissibility and acceptance by the judicial system as being trustworthy. Privileged or confidential information will also be protected by this policy. This policy will be re-evaluated at least every five years and updated as required.

DESTRUCTION OF RECORDS

Macon County will seek the approval of the North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources for the destruction of any paper records that have been scanned in accordance with this policy. That approval will be requested and recorded on the "Request for Disposal of Original Records Duplicated by Electronic Means" form. Macon County will submit a new form each time it begins to scan a new record series.

The paper originals of records series scheduled as "permanent" in the Macon County Records Retention and Disposition Schedule will not be destroyed unless a microfilm preservation duplicate is created prior to destruction. Destruction of the original paper record will be conducted only after imaging and quality control assurance procedures have been completed, all necessary corrections have been made, all auditing procedures have been conducted and approved by the supervisor of the program area.

The document management system is designed to meet all technical requirements as specified by the NC Department of Cultural Resources. Images scanned into the document management system are stored as Group IV TIFF images, and the indexes reside in a database in Microsoft SQL Server to provide a completely non-proprietary system. The vendor has supplied all documentation about the database layout and design to ensure that the images and indexes are readily accessible by the IT Staff of Macon County. The County IT Staff have been trained on the proper back-up techniques for both the images and the database and have committed the proper resources to manage the backup and general maintenance of the imaging server.

Documents will be backed up daily to a tape which will be moved off-site for full redundancy. Scanned records will be maintained for the specified retention periods according to the North Carolina Department Retention and Disposition Schedule published by the North Carolina Division of Cultural Resources. The original paper record will be shredded on County premises by Department staff. Security backups of all imaged documents will be generated nightly and maintained off-site. A listing of all records imaged will be kept in electronic format along with a listing of the dates of destruction. All records stored as images in the system will be considered Macon County?s "official" agencies records. Any hard copy generated from the imaging system will be considered the agencies?s duplicate "working" records.

TRAINING:

The vendor provided training and detailed system usage documentation to the Macon County IT Department on proper techniques for image capture, indexing, quality control, security configuration, auditing, and general system maintenance. The key imaging operators have received formal training in the use of the equipment. All applicable Department staff will be trained in the correct procedures required for imaging and the reproducing of records. All applicable Department staff will be trained in the correct procedures for viewing imaged documents and for reproducing of any imaged document. IT Department will conduct training.

Documentation of all imaging activities is maintained through audit trails built into the imaging system to protect the agency from potential fraud or any other unauthorized acts, as well as the authenticity of the records.

Audit trail includes (at a minimum):

Applications: Create/Delete/Modify

Index: Create, Delete, Modify

Pages: Add, Delete, View/Print/Export/Mail

Batches: Create, Delete, Batch import/scan, Batch Index

Batch Page: Add, Delete, Attach to a document

Query: Execute

User: Login/Logout

Group: Create/Delete/Modify

AUDITS:

Managerial staff for the various units of the agencies will periodically audit imaged records for accuracy, readability, and reproduction capabilities. Hardcopy records will not be destroyed until the managerial staff has audited a sampling of those records for system?s accuracy. A written audit report will be prepared indicating the sampling of records produced and what remedial procedures were followed if the expected level of accuracy was not achieved.


DOCUMENTATION:

Procedures:

Macon County IT Department will be responsible for the preparation and updating of detailed procedures that will describe the process followed to produce and reproduce an automated record. This documentation will include a description of the system hardware and software. A current procedural manual will be maintained to assure the most current steps are followed and to assure reliable system documentation will be available for judicial or similar proceedings.

Training

Documentation will be maintained for the distribution of written procedures, attendance of individuals at training sessions and refresher training programs and other relevant information, including dates.

Retention

One set of all system documentation, including documentation describing how the system operates from a functional user and data processing point of view, will be maintained permanently in the event a court review is necessary. When system documentation changes, old versions will be maintained for 3 years after discontinuance of system and after all data (records) created by the system has been destroyed or transferred to a new operating environment.

AVAILABILITY OF SYSTEM FOR OUTSIDE INSPECTION:

These agencies recognize the fact that the judicial system may request pretrial discovery of computer programs and related materials. Agencies personnel will honor requests for outside inspection of the system and testing of data by opposing parties and the court. They will also honor inspection and copy requests pursuant to Chapter 132 of the North Carolina General Statutes.

Adopted by Macon County Board of Commissioners

January 8, 2007

Click here For a .pdf (Adobe Reader) copy of this document

© 2010 Macon County, North Carolina
5 West Main Street • Franklin, NC 28734
Phone: 828-349-2000

web design tony angel media