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91 <br /> AUDITS, LITIGATION, AND OTHER OFFICIAL ACTION <br /> Q. Why is there an asterisk in the disposition instructions of so many items on <br /> this schedule? <br /> A. No record involved in a pending or ongoing audit, legal, or other official action may be <br /> destroyed before that audit or action is resolved. <br /> A legal hold or litigation hold means that records that are the subject of the legal hold or <br /> litigation hold must be preserved and thus must not be destroyed until officially released from <br /> the hold. A legal hold or litigation hold is placed when either an official discovery order is served <br /> on the agency requesting the production of the records in question (for a litigation, regulatory <br /> investigation, audit, open records request, etc.)or litigation is pending and the agency is thus on <br /> notice to preserve all potentially relevant records. You must also ensure that for a claim or <br /> litigation that appears to be reasonably foreseeable or anticipated but not yet initiated, any <br /> records (in paper or electronic formats) relevant to such a claim or litigation are preserved and <br /> not destroyed until released by your General Counsel. The records in question must not be <br /> destroyed until the completion of the action and the resolution of all issues that arise from it <br /> regardless of the retention period set forth in this schedule. <br /> We have used an asterisk(*) in the disposition instructions to mark records series that are <br /> commonly audited, litigated, or may be subject to other official actions. However, any record <br /> has this potential. Records custodians are responsible for being aware of potential actions, and <br /> for preventing the destruction of any record that is, or may be reasonably expected to become, <br /> involved in an audit, legal,or other official action. <br /> t <br /> Records used during routine audits may be destroyed when the governing body accepts the <br /> audit, if the records have completed the retention period listed in this schedule. If time remains <br /> in the retention period,the records must be maintained for the remainder of the period. The <br /> auditor's working papers must be kept according to the schedule. (See also GENERAL RECORDS <br /> SCHEDULE: LOCAL GOVERNMENT AGENCIES, Audits: Performance, STANDARD 1: <br /> ADMINISTRATION AND MANAGEMENT RECORDS,Audits: Financial, STANDARD 2: BUDGET, <br /> FISCAL, AND PAYROLL RECORDS.) Should a dispute arise over an audit,the records that were <br /> audited should be retained until that dispute is resolved. <br /> The attorney representing the agency should inform records custodians when legal matters are <br /> concluded and records will no longer be needed. Following the conclusion of any legal action, <br /> the records may be destroyed if they have met the retention period in the schedule. Otherwise, <br /> they should be kept for the remaining time period. <br /> A-5 <br />