From: Laurie alderman
Sent: Monday, May 12, 2025 1:20 PM
To: Kevin Patterson <[email protected]>
Cc: John Bakker <[email protected]>; Michael Ceremello Ceremello < ; George Barich < ; Laura Sparks
<[email protected]>; Damien O'Bid <[email protected]>; John Savage <[email protected]>; Sylvia Lemus <[email protected]>; Susan Harvey <[email protected]>; Ben Ford <[email protected]>; Robert Smith <[email protected]>; Carleton L. Briggs Attorney at Law < ; Chris Simmons <[email protected]>
Subject: Public Comment Consent Calendar Item #9D records retention, please pull from consent calendar on 5/13/25
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Please pull the records retention item that is on the consent calendar. There are some retention of records that need to be held longer due to the unique situations here in Cotati.
Code Enforcement and
Compliance:
Code enforcement records for closed cases, i.e. George Barich's case, i.e. a closed 2021 case are being used more than 3 years after closing in litigation/current hearings in 2025. They are also used to establish long term patterns of violations. I would suggest 7 years retention after closing.
Department administration -- general records:
Policies, staff meeting, in-house committees, are especially needed more than 2 years retention for potential litigation matters, which can take 3-5 years after a federal complaint is filed after the 2 year statute of limitations. I suggest 5 years retention.
Audio/Visual Recordings:
The action minutes do not record the public input and the audio and/or video recordings give a more complete record of what actually happened at the council meeting. Audio and video recordings are essential in litigation, especially for Federal complaints, which can take three years more than the 2 year statute of limitations . They are also a valuable asset to have for historical purposes. I suggest they be retained permanently or 10 years.
Appointments:
The City of Cotati has some questionable appointments in the past, which potentially could be used in litigation. These records would provide more context, i.e. qualifications of all the applicants. I suggest 7 years after appointment.
Thank you,
Laurie Alderman