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 town or any of its officers or employees pursuant to law or in the transaction of public business are hereby declared to be the records of the town 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.
(1999 Code, sec. 1.601)
Department head.
The officer who by ordinance or administrative policy is in charge of an office of the town that creates or receives records.
Essential record.
Any record of the town necessary to the resumption or continuation of operations in an emergency or disaster, to the re-creation of the legal and financial status [of the town] or to the protection and fulfillment of obligations to the people of the state.
Permanent record.
Any record of the town for which the retention period on a records control schedule is given as permanent.
Records control schedule.
A document prepared by or under the authority of the records management officer listing the records maintained by the town, their retention periods and other records disposition information that the records management program may require.
Records management.
The application of management techniques to the creation, use, maintenance, retention, preservation and disposal of records for the purposes of reducing the costs 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 micrographics, electronic, and other records storage systems.
Records management officer.
The person designated in section 2.02.005 of this article.
Records management plan.
The plan developed under section 2.02.006 of this article.
Retention period.
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.
(1999 Code, sec. 1.602)
All municipal records as defined in section 2.02.001 of this article are hereby declared to be the property of the town. No municipal official or employee has, by the 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.
(1999 Code, sec. 1.603)
It is hereby declared to be the policy of the town to provide for efficient, economical and effective controls over the creation, distribution, organization, maintenance, use and the disposition of all municipal 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.
(1999 Code, sec. 1.604)
The town secretary, and the successive holders of said office, shall serve as records management officer for the town. 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 thirty days of the initial designation or of taking up the office, as applicable.
(1999 Code, sec. 1.605)
(a) 
The records management officer shall develop a records management plan for the town for submission to the town council. The plan must contain policies and procedures designed to reduce the costs and improve the efficiency of recordkeeping, to adequately protect the essential records of the municipality, and to properly preserve those records of the municipality 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 town council, the records management plan shall be binding on all offices, departments, divisions, programs, commissions, bureaus, boards, committees, or similar entities of the town 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 town.
(1999 Code, sec. 1.606)
In addition to other duties assigned in this article, the records management officer shall:
(1) 
Administer the records management program and provide assistance to department heads in its implementation;
(2) 
Plan, formulate and prescribe records disposition policies, systems, standards and procedures;
(3) 
In cooperation with department heads, identify essential records and establish a disaster plan for each municipal office and department to ensure maximum availability of the records in order to re-establish operations quickly and with minimum disruption and expense;
(4) 
Develop procedures to ensure the permanent preservation of the historically valuable records of the municipality;
(5) 
Establish standards for filing and storage equipment and for recordkeeping supplies;
(6) 
Study the feasibility of and, if appropriate, establish a uniform filing system and forms design and control system for the town;
(7) 
Monitor records retention schedules and administrative rules issued by the state library and archives commission to determine if the records management program and the municipality’s records control schedules are in compliance with state regulations;
(8) 
Disseminate to the town council and department heads information concerning state laws and administrative rules relating to local government records;
(9) 
Ensure that the maintenance, preservation, microfilming, destruction or other disposition of the town records are carried out in accordance with the policies and procedures of the records management program and the requirements of state law;
(10) 
Maintain records on the volume of records destroyed under approved records control schedules, the volume of records microfilmed or stored electronically and the estimated cost and space savings as the result of such disposal or disposition;
(11) 
Report annually to the town council on the implementation of the records management plan in each department of the town, including summaries of the statistical and fiscal data compiled under subsection (10); and
(12) 
Bring to the attention of the town council noncompliance by department heads or other municipal personnel with the policies and procedures of the records management program or the Local Government Records Act.
(1999 Code, sec. 1.607)
In addition to other duties assigned in this article, department heads shall:
(1) 
Cooperate with the records management officer in carrying out the policies and procedures established in the town for the efficient and economical management of records and in carrying out the requirements of this article;
(2) 
Adequately document the transaction of government business and the services, programs and duties for which the department head and his or her staff are responsible; and
(3) 
Maintain the records in his or her care and carry out their preservation, microfilming, destruction or other disposition only in accordance with the policies and procedures of the records management program of the town and the requirements of this article.
(1999 Code, sec. 1.608)
(a) 
The records management officer, in cooperation with the department heads, 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 municipal 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 if the department and the records management program of the town.
(c) 
Before its adoption, a records control schedule or amended schedule for a department must be approved by the department head and the members of the town council.
(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.
(1999 Code, sec. 1.609)
(a) 
A records control schedule for a department that has been approved and adopted under section 2.02.009 shall be implemented by department heads and records liaison officers 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 records request is 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 officer 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 town council.
(1999 Code, sec. 1.610)
A record that has not yet been listed on an approved records control schedule may be destroyed if its destruction has been approved in the same manner as a record destroyed under an approved schedule and the records management officer has submitted to and received back from the director and librarian an approved destruction authorization request.
(1999 Code, sec. 1.611)
(a) 
The town adopts records retention schedules that comply with the minimum requirements of records schedules issued by the state library and archives commission.
(b) 
The records management officer shall complete a declaration of compliance with the records scheduling requirements of the Local Government Records Act and file it with the state.
(1999 Code, sec. 1.612)