the municipal secretary desktop reference manual - Southwestern ...

J. MUNICIPAL RECORDS MANAGEMENT
The administration of local government has grown steadily more complex in recent times.
Public demands for increased efficiency, improved services, and greater accountability and expanded
reporting requirements from state and federal government confront public officials regularly. To
meet these challenges, increasingly sophisticated techniques must be applied to the management of
local government.
Better information is one such tool, such as, information to prepare responsible budgets, to
compile reports, to levy taxes and to pay bills. To a large extent, that information is collected and
reported in the municipality's own public records. Consequently, the efficient management of such
records is essential to the successful administration of local government.
A municipality's records are also of concern to its citizens whose legal and financial interests
they protect. Records of building inspections and property assessments are of equal interest to the
public involved as to the office which created them. In sum, the records of a local government are a
valuable asset to its officers and employees and to its citizens.
Just keeping records, however, is not enough.
! Records must be accessible.
A record which cannot be found is useless to everyone.
! Record-keeping must be efficient.
Businesses have learned that poor record-keeping is expensive. Good records
management is a cost-effective program, not a frill.
To achieve these objectives, records must be created, organized, and disposed of
systematically. Otherwise, municipal records become a burden to the local government.
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