MONDAY, June 5, 2023
8:30 AM – 9:00 AM New Member/First Time Attendee Orientation
June Patterson, NYALGRO Board Member, Town Clerk, Town of Highlands
Matthew Shaler, NYALGRO Board Member, RMC, Madison County
New member? First time attending a NYALGRO conference? Come to this session to get a
quick orientation about NYALGRO and what we offer to you as a member. Meet other
first-time attendees and network.
9:00 AM – 10:30 AM FOIL – Freedom of Information Law
Kristin O’Neill, Assistant Director, Committee on Open Government
This session provides an opportunity for attendees to learn more about a government
agency’s rights and responsibilities in relation to the Freedom of Information Law. The
class will focus on the areas of concern most relevant to you, so bring your questions,
concerns, and unusual situations to discuss and to receive advice and guidance from
the Committee on Open Government.
11:00 AM – 12:00 PM Your Records After COVID
Monica Hauck-Whealton, RAO, NYS Archives
Local government records documenting their response to the COVID-19 pandemic
may contain valuable information of interest to government leadership,
emergency management staff, and researchers. Ensuring that these records are
retained appropriately is complicated not only by the increased relevance of certain
common record types but also by the shift to telecommuting for many staff and
resulting storage of records in employees’ homes.
This session will discuss applying appropriate retention schedule items to
records documenting pandemic response, identifying records of enduring historical
value, and managing records in a remote environment.
11:00 AM – 12:00 PM Paper Treasures: Information Contained in Historical Documents and Preservation for Public Use
Tricia Noel, Executive Director and Curator - Yates County History Center
This session will cover the kind of information one can obtain from historical documents
and the best practices for storing and retaining them, and how they can be of use to
the public for genealogical, architectural, or other types of historic research.
1:00 PM – 2:30 PM Electronic Document Records Systems (EDRS) and Laserfiche
Colleen Rathbun, Deputy Town Clerk, Town of Queensbury
Desiree Potvin, NYALGRO President, Town/Village Clerk, Town/Village of Woodbury
“Many people believe that an electronic content management system (ECM) is merely an
electronic document imaging system, but it is actually a software system that allows for the
creation, indexing, management, and retrieval of documents in various formats through
a single interface.” (NYS Archives)
This session will walk you through a content management system, starting with the basics
to the more elaborate records management program. You will learn how to organize your
records and manage digital records retention.
1:00 PM – 2:30 PM Back to Basics - Records Management 101
Dina Falcone, NYALGRO Board Member, Town Clerk, Town of Lysander
Jessica McClennan, NYALGRO Board Member, Deputy Village Clerk, Village of Woodbury
Are you a new Records Management Officer (RMO)? Records Management is a method for
controlling the creation, maintenance, acquisition, and disposal of information regardless of
its format. This session will focus on the best procedures and practices for maintaining,
storing, indexing, and destroying your records as well as offering hints to make the job
a little easier.
3:00 PM – 4:30 PM Municipal Breakouts - Round-Table Networking
NYALGRO Board Members and NYS Archives RAOs
Attendees will break out into groups based on municipal type – county, town, village/city,
fire district, school district. Each group will have personal access to NYALGRO members
and RAOs from the NYS Archives. An interactive opportunity to ask questions and share
ideas on records management specific to your type of government.
TUESDAY, June 6, 2023
9:00 AM – 10:00 AM LGRMIF Ins and Outs - Key Considerations in Writing Your Grant Application
Michael Martin, RAO - Towns, NYS Archives
This session will provide some guidelines for the application process of the LGRMIF
grant program. This program provides funds to improve the management of records.
This can range from a first-time inventory to an intricate content management system.
The session will include some suggestions to help attendees write a successful grant
application.
9:00 AM – 10:00 AM Creating, Modifying, and Applying a Records Management Policy
Desiree Potvin, NYALGRO President, Town/Village Clerk, Town/Village of Woodbury
When was the last time you reviewed your records management procedure policy?
Do you have a records management procedure policy? This session will provide you
with suggestions and guidance on how to create or maintain a records management
procedure policy for your municipality that will ensure the lifecycle of your records is
followed consistently, from start to finish. A sample policy used by the speaker will be
provided.
10:30 AM – 12:00 PM Schoharie County’s Recovery from Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee
Hon. M. Indica “Indy” Jaycox, Schoharie County Clerk
Schoharie County and the surrounding area sustained heavy damage when Hurricane
Irene and Tropical Storm Lee pounded into the area within ten days of each other in
2011. Several feet of water poured into the lower levels of several county buildings.
This session will detail how Schoharie County recovered from this records management
nightmare.
10:30 AM – 12:00 PM Inherited Records Mess? - Tackling Records Management Messes
Maria McCashion, Records Advisor, NYS Archives
It’s easy to get overwhelmed dealing with a room full of stacked boxes, a network with
no filing system, or poorly arranged records series. Faced with all three, you might want
to change careers! This session will help you form a plan of attack. It will look at
some common records messes and provide tools and ideas for you and others to help
identify issues and build a road map to make and implement changes.
1:30 PM – 3:00 PM Navigating a First Amendment Audit
Lori Mithen-Demasi, General Counsel, Association of Towns
First Amendment auditors are individuals who use recording equipment and smart phones
to record public property, government operations and interactions with public officers and
employees. In this session we review basic First Amendment principles and case law
associated with the use of recording equipment on public property. In addition, we’ll
discuss some considerations for creating reasonable time, place, and manner rules regarding
the use of recording equipment and suggestions for interacting with individuals seeking to
use recording equipment in public facilities.
1:30 PM – 3:00 PM Leadership – How to Promote Yourself and Your Purpose
Connie Brown, Former President/CEO United Way of Greater Niagara
Megan Sokolow, Records Management Inventory Supervisor, Livingston County
Vicki Switzer, Operations Manager, Burn Boot Camp
Recent scientific studies suggest that leadership is 30% genetic and 70% learned.
As records managers we find ourselves in many roles; being a leader is one. You may
find you are supervising staff, running a meeting, or initiating record management policies,
to name a few.
In this panel session three leaders will discuss their experiences cultivating and promoting
their programs by reaching out and motivating staff and stakeholders. Each will explain
their trials and tribulations in each phase of their careers. One panel member is a
seasoned leader with years of knowledge and experience; one is new in her position of
leadership and is in the process of learning and developing their skill set; and one is a
novice records manager who successfully has begun to regenerate a dying records
management program. This truly awesome team is open for questions and experiences
that you may wish to ask or share.