Fact Check: City of Hoover City Attorney Phillip Corley Jr. Statement on Council videos
The Alabama Department of Archives and History, through its Records Management Section, manages guidance for the retention of public records in the state. In November 2022, the Hoover Sun reported on changes to the City of Hoover’s record retention. In that article, Jon Anderson quotes the city attorney Phillip Corley, saying, “However, temporary recordings should be deleted once minutes are approved according to the Records Disposition Authority issued by the Alabama Local Government Records Commission,” Corley wrote. “Another alternative would be to livestream only with no recordings or not to livestream at all. Transparency under Alabama law means that the meetings are open to the public and minutes of what was done at those meetings are made available to the public. The minutes are permanent public records and the official record of actions taken at a meeting.” Claim: “temporary recordings should be deleted once minutes are approved according to the Records Disposition Authority” (Emphasis added) Fact: “The Records Disposition Authority lists the minimum time that agencies must keep records that are created. Agencies may choose to keep records longer.” Rating: Pants on Fire Sources: Per State and Local Records Coordinator, Appraisal & Records Management Program, Alabama Department of Archives and History: The Records Disposition Authority, approved by the Local Government Records Commission, lists “Recordings of Meetings” as having a retention of “retain until minutes are approved.” The Local Government Records Commission does not dictate where those recordings are housed or whether a record must be created. The Records Disposition Authority lists the minimum time that agencies must keep records that are created. Agencies may choose to keep records longer. RDAs may be found on our website on the Manage Records tab > Local Agencies > Retention Schedules. Please see the retention below for Recordings of Meetings in the Municipalities RDA. 1.04 Recordings of Meetings. Audio or video recordings provide a verbatim account of debate and public input at meetings of the municipal council and municipal boards, commissions, or similar bodies. They are normally used only as an aid to preparation of the minutes . Disposition: Temporary Record. Retain until minutes are approved. Earliest electronic files available show Recordings of Meetings in the Municipalities 2000 RDA with a retention of “Retain 1 year after the end of the fiscal year in which the minutes were approved.” In July 2002, the retention of the Recordings of Meetings was changed to “Retain until minutes are approved.” A notation was added to the description in section two “(revised in conformity with other RDAs).” A random sampling of Alabama cities that maintain videos online: City of Mobile: 1,019 videos: YouTube City of Montgomery videos go back 12-months: City Website City of Selma (Which hasn’t been updated since Jan. 2023. Videos go back to 9/30/2021): City Website City of Huntsville 205 pages of city council videos going back to May 2017: City Website
