All documents, papers, letters, books, maps, photographs,
sound or video recordings, microfilm, magnetic tape, electronic media,
or other information-recording media, regardless of physical form
or characteristic and regardless of whether public access to it is
open or restricted under the laws of the state, created [or] received
by [the city in] the transaction of public business, are hereby declared
to be the records of the city, and shall be created, maintained, and
disposed of in accordance with the provisions of this article or procedures
authorized by it and in no other manner. The term does not include:
Extra identical copies of documents created only for convenience
of reference or research by officers or employees of the local government;
Notes, journals, diaries and other similar documents created
by an officer or employee of the local government for the officer's
or employee's personal convenience;
Blank forms;
Stocks of publications;
Library and museum materials acquired solely for the purpose
of reference or display; or
means the officer who by ordinance, order, or administrative
policy is in charge of an office of the city that creates or receives
records.
means any record of the city necessary to the resumption
or continuation of operations of the city in an emergency or disaster,
to the re-creation of the legal and financial status of the city,
or to the protection and fulfillment of obligations to the people
of the state.
means any record of the city for which the retention period
on a records control schedule is given as permanent.
means a document prepared by or under the authority of the
records management officer listing the records maintained by the city,
their retention periods, and other records disposition information
that the records management program may require.
means the application of management techniques to the creation,
use, maintenance, retention, preservation, and disposal of records
for the purpose of reducing the cost and improving the efficiency
of recordkeeping. The term includes the development of records control
schedules, the management of filing and information retrieval systems,
the protection of essential and permanent records, the economical
and space-effective storage of inactive records, control over the
creation and distribution of forms, reports, and correspondence, and
the management of micrographic and electronic and other records storage
systems.
means the committee established in section 2.07.005 of this article.
means the person designated in section 2.07.004 of this article.
means the plan developed under section 2.07.006 of this article.
means the minimum time that must pass after the creation,
recording, or receipt of a record, or the fulfillment of certain actions
associated with a record, before it is eligible for destruction.
(Ordinance 1998-12-0021, sec. 1,
adopted 8/10/98)
All city records as defined in this article are hereby declared
to be the property of the city. No city official or employee has,
by virtue of his or her position, any personal or property right to
such records even though he or she may have developed or compiled
them. The unauthorized destruction, removal from files, or use of
such records is prohibited.
(Ordinance 1998-12-0021, sec. 2,
adopted 8/10/98)
It is hereby declared to be the policy of the city to provide
for efficient, economical, and effective controls over the creation,
distribution, organization, maintenance, use, and disposition of all
city records through a comprehensive system of integrated procedures
for the management of records from their creation to their ultimate
disposition, consistent with the requirements of the Texas Local Government
Records Act and accepted records management practice.
(Ordinance 1998-12-0021, sec. 3,
adopted 8/10/98)
The city secretary and the successive holders of said office
shall serve as records management officer for the city. As provided
by state law, each successive holder of the office shall file his
or her name with the director and librarian of the state library within
30 days of the initial designation or of taking up the office, as
applicable.
(Ordinance 1998-12-0021, sec. 4,
adopted 8/10/98)
A records management committee consisting of the department
heads of the city departments is hereby established to assist the
records management officer in the development of a records management
plan for the efficient and economical management of city records,
including policies and procedures for the administration of the plan.
(Ordinance 1998-12-0021, sec. 5,
adopted 8/10/98)
(a)
The
records management officer and the records management committee shall
develop a records management plan for the city for submission to the
city council. The plan must contain policies and procedures to reduce
the costs and improve the efficiency of recordkeeping, to adequately
protect the essential records of the city, and to properly preserve
those records of the city that are of historical value. The plan must
be designed to enable the records management officer to carry out
his or her duties prescribed by state law and this article effectively.
(b)
Once
approved by the city council, the records management plan shall be
binding on all offices, departments, divisions, programs, commissions,
bureaus, boards, committees, or similar entities of the city and records
shall be created, maintained, stored, microfilmed, or disposed of
in accordance with the plan.
(c)
State
law relating to the duties, other responsibilities, or recordkeeping
requirements of a department head do not exempt the department head
or the records in the department head's care from the application
of this article and the records management plan adopted under it and
may not be used by the department head as a basis for refusal to participate
in the records management program of the city.
(Ordinance 1998-12-0021, sec. 6,
adopted 8/10/98)
(a)
The
records management officer, in cooperation with the records management
committee, shall prepare records control schedules on a department-by-department
basis listing all records created or received by the department and
the retention period for each record. Records control schedules shall
also contain such other information regarding the disposition of city
records as the records management plan may require.
(b)
Each
records control schedule shall be monitored and amended as needed
by the records management officer on a regular basis to ensure that
it is in compliance with records retention schedules issued by the
state and that it continues to reflect the recordkeeping procedures
and needs of the department and the records management program of
the city.
(c)
Before
its adoption a records control schedule or amended schedule for a
department must be approved by the members of the records management
committee.
(d)
Before
its adoption a records control schedule must be submitted to and accepted
for filing by the director and librarian as provided by state law.
If a schedule is not accepted for filing, the schedule shall be amended
to make it acceptable for filing. The records management officer shall
submit the records control schedules to the director and librarian.
(Ordinance 1998-12-0021, sec. 7,
adopted 8/10/98)
(a)
A records control schedule for a department that has been approved and adopted under section 2.07.006 shall be implemented by all departments according to the policies and procedures of the records management plan.
(b)
A
record whose retention period has expired on a records control schedule
shall be destroyed unless an open record request is still pending
on the record, the subject matter of the record is pertinent to a
pending lawsuit, or the department head requests in writing to the
records management committee that the record be retained for an additional
period.
(c)
Prior
to the destruction of a record [under] an approved records control
schedule, authorization for the destruction must be obtained by the
records management officer from the records management committee.
(Ordinance 1998-12-0021, sec. 8,
adopted 8/10/98)
A record that has not yet been listed on the approved records
control schedule may be destroyed if its destruction has been approved
in the same manner as a record destroyed under the approved schedule
and the records management officer has submitted to and received back
from the director and librarian an approved destruction authorization
request.
(Ordinance 1998-12-0021, sec. 9,
adopted 8/10/98)
