The Peru Gazette

Alden Stevens

By John T. Ryan

Anyone visiting the Peru Town Hall recently may have noticed a man they do not recognize either examining town records or entering data into a laptop.  For the past several weeks Alden Stevens, a records management specialist, has been organizing thousands of town records and preparing thousands of others for disposal. Last year the Town received a $24,961 state grant to identify and organize required town records and to purge obsolete records. The Town Board asked for bids and in December it awarded Stevens a $17,851 contract with the additional $7,000 to be spent on shelving.

Retention requirements for government records are complex. The Town Supervisor, the Town Clerk, the Town Court and the Zoning Enforcement Officer all maintain extensive official records. Towns typically have thousands of documents in storage with varying retention requirements. Alden Stevens explained, “Most people revert to a cautious philosophy, ‘When in doubt, save it!’ Making a decision on what records can be safely destroyed is very time-consuming and destruction is not easy to work into a normal workday. New York State recognized this and created the Local Government Management Fund to provide both fiscal and clerical assistance.” The hope is that towns will correct accumulated problems and develop procedures to carry them into the future. In the past few weeks Stevens has evaluated over 1,600 cubic feet of Peru’s records and has determined that 852 cubic feet can be legally destroyed.

Stevens is organizing Peru’s documents by date and type and entering the information into an Excel database.  The database will direct Town personnel to specific storage containers and specific locations.  Some records have very long retention periods. Peru’s marriage, birth and death certificates date back to the late 1700’s.  Payroll records must be maintained for at least fifty-five years. Other records have shorter retention requirements. Many accounting documents have a six year retention period.  The system Stevens is setting up will encourage timely document destruction.

Reorganizing government records sounds like a tedious job, but Alden Stevens says his interaction with town staff members makes his job enjoyable. He said he appreciates the friendly people and excellent cooperation he has received here in Peru.