Shasta County supervisors have adopted a new email retention policy, which will retain emails for two years. The decision was made after an intense board discussion, with supervisors voting 3-1 in favor of the amended policy.

Email Retention Policy Details

The new policy will take effect on August 1, allowing staff more time to determine which emails should be retained. County attorney Joseph Larmour had hoped to move quickly to mass delete emails more than two years old, but supervisors opted for a more cautious approach.

Supervisor Kevin Crye, who dissented from the vote, expressed concerns about how deleting old emails might impact public transparency. He noted that emails he had dug up from past years of correspondence had supported his objectives for change.

Community member Jenny O’Connell-Nowain also spoke to the board during public comment, emphasizing the importance of preserving historical emails. She noted that such emails had been significant in her husband’s successful fight to regain his county job after a wrongful termination.

Implications and Next Steps

The board’s decision has implications for public access to government documents and the county’s ability to respond to public records requests. The county will need to balance the need for efficient email management with the need for transparency and accountability.

Original reporting: Shasta Scout (Redding) — read the source article.