MMC Records Management & Administration 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Under FOIA and state open records laws, which of the following is generally considered a valid exemption from public disclosure?
- Records that were created more than 25 years ago
- Personnel records containing personal financial information of private employees
- Minutes of closed executive sessions discussing pending litigation (Correct answer)
- Budget documents submitted by department heads before council approval
Correct answer: Minutes of closed executive sessions discussing pending litigation
Records of closed sessions discussing pending litigation are typically exempt from disclosure to protect attorney-client privilege and litigation strategy.
Question 2: What is the role of a 'records custodian' as distinct from the municipal clerk?
- The records custodian physically maintains records while the clerk has legal custody (Correct answer)
- The records custodian and clerk hold identical roles under all state laws
- The records custodian authorizes retention schedules while the clerk destroys records
- The records custodian is appointed only for records older than 10 years
Correct answer: The records custodian physically maintains records while the clerk has legal custody
A records custodian is typically a department employee who physically maintains department records, while the clerk holds overall legal custodianship for the municipality.
Question 3: Which metadata element is MOST critical to include when indexing a scanned electronic document for long-term retrieval?
- The file size of the scanned image
- The name of the staff member who performed the scan
- The date of the original document (Correct answer)
- The brand of scanner used to digitize the record
Correct answer: The date of the original document
The date of the original document is essential metadata because it anchors the record to its context and drives retention schedule calculations.
Question 4: A municipal clerk receives a request to inspect records that are part of an ongoing audit. The BEST course of action is to:
- Deny the request until the audit is complete
- Provide all records immediately regardless of the audit
- Consult legal counsel and provide non-sensitive records while withholding those relevant to the audit if an exemption applies (Correct answer)
- Redirect the requester to the auditing agency
Correct answer: Consult legal counsel and provide non-sensitive records while withholding those relevant to the audit if an exemption applies
The clerk should consult counsel and release non-exempt records while legally withholding only those records for which a specific exemption applies.
Question 5: What is 'disposition' in the context of municipal records management?
- The physical organization of records within a filing system
- The action taken on records at the end of their retention period, such as destruction or transfer (Correct answer)
- The process of converting paper records to digital format
- The cataloging of records for retrieval purposes
Correct answer: The action taken on records at the end of their retention period, such as destruction or transfer
Disposition refers to the final action taken on records at the end of their retention period, including destruction, transfer to archives, or permanent retention.
Question 6: Which of the following best describes the 'legal hold' process in municipal records management?
- Records are sealed by court order and may not be accessed by staff
- Normal destruction of records is suspended when litigation or investigation is anticipated or underway (Correct answer)
- Records are transferred to the city attorney's office for safekeeping
- A judge issues a formal order requiring the municipality to produce specific records
Correct answer: Normal destruction of records is suspended when litigation or investigation is anticipated or underway
A legal hold suspends the normal disposition of records relevant to anticipated or active litigation, investigation, or audit to preserve potential evidence.
Question 7: When migrating records from one electronic document management system (EDMS) to another, what is the MOST critical risk to address?
- Increased storage costs during the transition period
- Loss of metadata or context that renders records unreadable or untrustworthy (Correct answer)
- Staff retraining on the new system interface
- Temporary reduction in public access to online records
Correct answer: Loss of metadata or context that renders records unreadable or untrustworthy
Migration risks primarily involve loss of metadata, formatting, or context that is required to authenticate and interpret records in the new system.
MMC Records Management & Administration 3
Under FOIA and state open records laws, which of the following is generally considered a valid exemption from public disclosure?