Web recordkeeping for councils

Managing recordkeeping for council websites

Documenting what was on the website and when

It’s crucial to determine if, for business, reporting, or risk management purposes, you need to maintain records of when specific corporate records were made available on your website.

You should also consider keeping a record of who uploaded the information, when they did this, when it was removed, and under whose authority. This ensures accountability and traceability.

Capturing unique web material

Some content, such as introductory or descriptive information about your local government area or council services, may be unique to your website.

You need to assess whether this unique content needs to be formally captured as a record in your corporate records system. If so, make sure to update the records each time the information changes to maintain an accurate history of public statements.

Links to formal documents and forms

• Formal documents, for example, planning or service forms, should already be in your corporate system.
• Maintain records of when these were published and removed from the website.
• Track changes to forms and keep a record of when different versions were available online.

Council minutes and meeting papers

Making minutes and meeting papers freely available is an important requirement under the Local Government Act 1993. Most councils choose to publish these records on their website. 

In doing so:

• ensure the final versions are captured in the corporate records system
• keep a record of updates made to your online publications section when new minutes or papers are uploaded
• assign a specific officer and specify in your procedures to ensure these updates are captured and maintained. 

News updates

Many council sites include an active news area with information about Council decisions and activities. The records you keep depend on the type of information you provide via your news area and the types of risk associated with this information. 

Capture every news story

Method: Capture a full record of each news story as it is uploaded to ensure a comprehensive log of all public statements made by the council.

Options for capturing:

• Automatically capture a copy of each news story at the time of publication.
• Use RSS notifications to summarize the news updates.
• Capture a weekly or fortnightly digest of all news stories for ease of management.

Why? This method ensures that all news content is documented, providing a detailed and accurate history of communications which could be useful for transparency, accountability, and maintaining public records. 

Perform a risk assessment

Method: Conduct a risk assessment to determine whether every news update needs to be formally captured.

Outcome:

• If most news updates are low risk and already recorded elsewhere (such as through minutes of meetings or advertisements), you may decide not to capture these news stories in your records system.
• For high-risk areas, proceed to capture only critical updates.

Why? This helps reduce the burden of storing low-impact information while still safeguarding crucial updates that may be subject to future audits or scrutiny.

Capture high-risk news updates

Method: Identify and flag news stories that pertain to high-risk areas of business or important community requirements, for example, planning, zoning, public consultations.

Procedure: Implement a system where news updates from certain business areas or those requiring community involvement are flagged for record capture.

Assign responsibility: Ensure that a specific business area or staff member is responsible for ensuring these high-risk updates are recorded in the corporate records system.

Why? This selective approach balances efficiency with accountability, ensuring only the most significant news stories are recorded as official records.

By using one or a combination of these approaches, you can ensure that your council’s news updates are managed in line with the level of risk and importance of the content being communicated.

Online surveys

Capture the final version of the survey

Ensure that the final version of the survey, including all questions, is recorded in your corporate records system.

This version should be a formal record for future reference and may already exist in the records system prior to the survey being made available online.

Record the survey availability period

Why? This is essential in case ratepayers question whether they had an opportunity to participate in the survey or challenge the consultation process.

How to capture the time period

• Generate a report from your content management system (CMS) that specifies when the survey was made available and when it was closed.
• Attach metadata notes to the formal record of the survey in the records system, specifying the exact dates the survey was accessible online.
• Include the dates in a formal business report or consultation process report, which can be used to demonstrate the timeline and location of the survey.

Capture survey responses

Why? The survey responses provide crucial data for Council officers to make informed decisions regarding services.

Steps to capture responses

• Ensure all responses are captured in a manner that links questions with answers. Some survey tools may export data in a way that separates questions and responses, making interpretation difficult.
• Either capture each response individually or create a comprehensive report of all responses, ensuring that this data is stored in your corporate records system.

Ensure anonymity where required

Why? If the survey guarantees anonymity, it is important to ensure that no identifying information, such as email addresses or server locations, is captured unless explicitly stated by the participant.

Steps to maintain anonymity

• Review the settings of your online survey tool to ensure that identifying information is not inadvertently captured.
• Verify that responses saved in the corporate records system adhere to the anonymity policy as outlined in the survey instructions.

By following these steps, you can ensure that online surveys are managed in a way that is compliant, transparent, and respectful of participant privacy, while also maintaining accurate records for future decision-making.

Documents posted online for comment

Capture official the document as a formal record

Why? The document needs to be officially recorded in your corporate records system before being made available for public comment.

How to capture

Ensure the document, including all relevant content and information, is stored in the corporate records system as a formal record.

Record the dates of availability for comment

Why? You need to officially record the specific time period the document was available for public comment, in case there is a need to demonstrate compliance with consultation periods or address any queries or disputes. 

How to capture the time period

• Generate a report from your content management system (CMS) that specifies the exact dates the document was posted online and when the comment period ended.
• Attach a metadata note to the document’s record in the corporate records system, indicating the dates it was available for public comment.
• Include the dates in a formal report detailing the consultation process.

By capturing both the formal record of the document and the exact availability period, you can ensure full transparency and compliance with regulatory requirements regarding public comments on council documents.

Retention and disposal of your council's web records

Understand retention periods

Consult with records manager: Work closely with your records manager to identify the legally mandated retention periods for different types of web records. Retention periods vary depending on the risk and importance of the business area, for example, planning and development records may need to be kept longer than low-risk service records).

Plan record disposal

Regular reviews: Work with your records team to establish a schedule for exporting long-term records to the corporate records system and periodically reviewing web records that have reached the end of their retention periods.

Secure disposal: Once records have met their retention requirements, ensure they are securely disposed of according to legal and organisational protocols.