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Adoption of Updated Records Retention Schedules
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INFORMATION CONTACT:
Clayton T. Voignier, Assistant County Manager, 704-283-3687; Jason Kay, County Attorney, 704-283-3784
ACTION REQUESTED:
Adopt the 2021 General Records Schedule and 2021 Program Records Schedule for Local Government Agencies for Union County effective October 20, 2025
PRIOR BOARD ACTIONS:
Union County’s General Records Schedule was last updated on August 5, 2019
BACKGROUND:
In April 2013, Union County adopted a Records Retention and Disposition Schedule for County Management, which governed how long the County must retain various types of county records to comply with North Carolina law. All records retention and disposition schedules are published and periodically updated by the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources Division of Archives and Records ("NC Archives").
In 2019, Government Records were combined into a General Records Schedule for Local Government Agencies, and Union County adopted a General Records Schedule for Local Government Agencies in August of 2019.
In October of 2021, NC Archives published an updated General Records Schedule for Local Government Agencies and a new Program Records Schedule for Local Government Agencies. The 2021 General Records Schedule for Local Government Agencies reorganized and updated the 2019 version to improve clarity and consistency. The most noticeable change is the renaming of the “Personnel Records” section to “Human Resources Records.” Several record series were consolidated or clarified to eliminate redundancy, and terminology was updated to reflect electronic recordkeeping practices.
The 2021 Program Records Schedule for Local Government Agencies was a new retention schedule created from the former County Management (last updated in 2013) and Municipal (last updated in 2012) retention schedules. This schedule contains specific functions of government at the county level including Code Enforcement and Inspection Records, Parks and Recreation Records, Planning and Regulation of Development Records, Public Transportation Systems Records, Public Utilities and Environmental/Waste Management Records, and Street Maintenance, Public Works, and Engineering Records. Most retention periods remain consistent with prior guidance, though descriptions and organization were modernized to improve clarity and align with the format of the General Records Schedule.
Adoption of the 2021 General Records Schedule and Program Records Schedule for Local Government Agencies will supersede prior versions of these schedules and authorize the County to dispose of records in accordance with State-approved destruction methods.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
None