Title
A Resolution of the City Council of the City of Foley, Alabama, Authorizing and Requesting an Opinion From the Attorney General of the State of Alabama Regarding the City's Record Retention Obligations for Audio and Video Recordings of City Council Meetings
Body
WHEREAS, the City of Foley, Alabama (the "City") is considering whether to begin video recording its City Council meetings, whether to livestream those meetings through a third-party platform such as YouTube, or both; and
WHEREAS, before adopting a records management policy governing such recordings, the City Council requires authoritative guidance on the City's record retention obligations under applicable Alabama law; and
WHEREAS, the Alabama Department of Archives and History ("ADAH") municipal Records Disposition Authority ("RDA"), the existing State law, and other sources leave unclear the municipal record retention requirements and obligations that the City may face if it were to commence creating video recordings of its meetings; and
WHEREAS, neither the RDA nor any existing written guidance from ADAH or the Office of the Attorney General addresses: (1) whether a recording archived exclusively on a third-party platform such as YouTube satisfies the City's minimum retention obligation under RDA Record No. 1.04; (2) whether the City's retention obligations differ depending on whether the City records meetings internally, livestreams through a third-party platform, or does both; (3) whether the City's retention obligation is satisfied if a third-party archived recording becomes unavailable before the meeting minutes are approved through no act of the City; (4) whether a YouTube channel or similar platform through which the City livestreams Council meetings constitutes a "social media site" subject to the permanent record disposition under RDA Record No. 18.18, and if so, whether that obligation supersedes or supplements RDA Record No. 1.04; and (5) whether an advanced recording that displa...
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