Records group delays answer

The Jay County Commission on Public Records took cautionary action and decided to forward two requests to destroy records to the state for approval.
The commission met for its annual meeting Monday afternoon and considered requests from several county offices that wish to destroy old records.
Although requests from the Jay County Clerk and Jay Schools were given a quick approval since they were following a set retention schedule, commission members balked at requests from the Jay County Sheriff’s Office and town of Redkey, since neither had a set retention schedule on how long the records needed to be held before disposal.
The commission decided to send both of the requests to the Indiana Commission on Public Records for input.
In other business Monday, commission members discussed the Jay County Historical Society’s use of records currently stored in the courthouse basement.
The commission last year gave the historical society permission to look through several of those records in the basement but was still in limbo on whether the society could take ownership of some of those outdated books.
County clerk Ellen Coats presented board members with a listing of all the records Jane Spencer of the historical society wanted to have and noted that she had forwarded the list to the state about a year ago and still has not received a response on the issue.
“(Spencer) has the right to look at it, but she can’t remove it,” county auditor Nancy Culy said of the records.
“All we have to do is provide them access,” said Portland clerk-treasurer Randy Geesaman.
The commission also discussed an issue regarding fees for reproducing documents of permanent records.
“You’re supposed to pay $1 per page for a legal form,” Culy said. Those reproductions would include photocopying or photographing the page on certain permanent records, no matter the record’s age.
Committee members also questioned whether a record that meets it surpasses its retention term and is ready for “destruction” must be physically destroyed or if that term means that the county could get rid of them as it sees fit, such as turning it over to the historical society.
Unsure of the answers to the questions, commission members agreed they’ll just have to wait for an answer from the state on the issue, even though its been nearly a year with no response.
“We’ll just have to wait until that comes back,” said Jay County Commissioner Milo Miller Jr.
Also Monday, commission members reappointed Geesaman as the commission chairman and adopted updated retention schedules.[[In-content Ad]]