Request By:
Hon. Choya G. Oliver
Attorney at Law
Suite 500, American Bank Bldg.
163 West Short Street
Lexington, Kentucky 40507
Opinion
Opinion By: Steven L. Beshear, Attorney General; John H. Gray, Assistant Attorney General
Thank you for your letter of April 16, 1982 in which you ask which records a county clerk may keep and which records he may store with a private firm. Your letter also asks how long must records be kept before they can be stored.
KRS 171.690 which governs the storage of agency records states:
Whenever the head of a state or local agency determines that substantial economies or increased operating efficiency can be effected thereby, he shall provide for the storage, processing and servicing of records that are appropriate therefor in the records center maintained and operated by the department or, when approved by the department in such location maintained and operated by the head of such agency.
KRS 171.690 thus makes no provisions for the storage of records with a private firm. Under KRS 171.690 records can only be stored:
1. in a records center maintained and operated by the Department for Libraries and Archives;
2. in a location maintained and operated by the head of the local agency.
A county clerk, therefore, may not store any records with a private storage firm without approval from DLA, and even with such approval, can only store records with a private firm if the local agency maintains and operates the storage space.
In regards to records retention, a county clerk should consult the records retention schedule for county clerks, available through the Department for Libraries and Archives, to determine how long records are to be kept before they are to be stored or disposed of.
It is hoped that this has adequately answered your questions.