ARTICLE 1.02 RECORDS MANAGEMENT

Except as otherwise provided in subsection (b) of this section, any document, paper, letter, book, map, photograph, sound or video recording, microfilm, magnetic tape, electronic medium, or other information-recording medium, regardless of the 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 or any of its officers or employees pursuant to law, including an ordinance, or in the transaction of public business, is hereby declared to be a record 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.

Subsection (a) of this section shall not apply to:

Extra identical copies of documents created only for convenience of reference or research by officers or employees of the city;

Notes, journals, diaries and similar documents created by an officer or employee of the city for the officer's or employee's personal convenience;

§ 1.02.003 City records declared public property.

Blank forms;

(4)

Stocks of publications;

(5)

Library and museum materials acquired solely for the purposes of reference or display;

(6)

Copies of documents in any media furnished to members of the public to which they are entitled under V.T.C.A., Government Code ch. 552, or other state law; or

(7)

Any records, correspondence, notes, memoranda, or other documents associated with a matter conducted under an alternative dispute resolution procedure in which personnel of a state department or institution, local government, special district, or other political subdivision of the state participated as a party, facilitated as an impartial third party, or facilitated as the administrator of a dispute resolution system or organization.

(1999 Code, sec. 2-132)

All municipal records as defined in section 1.02.002 are hereby declared to be the property of the city. No municipal official or employee has, by virtue of his position, any personal or property right to such records, even though he may have developed or compiled them. The unauthorized destruction, removal from files, or use of such records is prohibited.

(1999 Code, sec. 2-133)

§ 1.02.004 Policy.

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 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 Local Government Records Act (V.T.C.A., Local Government Code ch. 201 et seq.) and accepted records management practice.

(1999 Code, sec. 2-134)

§ 1.02.005 Designation of records management officer.

The city council adopted Resolution No. 90-440 designating the office of city secretary to serve as records management officer for the city. In the event of the resignation, retirement, dismissal or removal by action of the city council of the individual so designated, the city council shall promptly designate another individual to serve as records management officer. The individual designated as records management officer shall file his name with the director and librarian of the state library and archives commission within 30 days of the date of designation, as provided by state law.

(1999 Code, sec. 2-135)

§ 1.02.006 Records management committee.

A records management committee consisting of the city manager, the finance director, the city attorney and the mayor is hereby established. The committee shall:

Assist the records management officer in the development of policies and procedures governing the records management program;

Review the performance of the program on a regular basis and propose changes and improvements if needed;

§ 1.02.007 Records management plan to be developed; approval of plan; authority of plan.

Review and approve records control schedules submitted by the records management officer;

(4)

Give final approval to the destruction of records in accordance with approved records control schedules; and

(5)

Actively support and promote the records management program throughout the city.

(1999 Code, sec. 2-136)

The records management officer and the records management committee shall develop a records management plan for the city for submission to the municipality. 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 duties prescribed by state law and this article effectively.

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 and microfilmed [according to the plan].

§ 1.02.008 Duties of records management officer.

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 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.

(1999 Code, sec. 2-137)

In addition to other duties assigned in this article or state law, the records management officer shall:

Administer the records management program and provide assistance to department heads in its implementation;

Plan, formulate and prescribe records disposition policies, systems, standards and procedures;

§ 1.02.009 Duties and responsibilities of department heads.

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 reestablish operations quickly and with minimum disruption and expense;

(4)

Develop procedures to ensure the permanent preservation of the historically valuable records of the city;

(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 city;

(7)

Provide records management advice and assistance to all municipal departments by preparation of manuals of procedure and policy and by on-site consultation;

(8)

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;

(9)

Disseminate to the city council and department heads information concerning state laws and administrative rules relating to local government records;

(10)

Instruct records liaison officers and other personnel in policies and procedures of the records management plan and their duties in the records management program;

(11)

Direct records liaison officers or other personnel in the conduct of records inventories in preparation for the development of records control schedules as required by state law and this article;

(12)

Ensure that the maintenance, preservation, microfilming, destruction, or other disposition of municipal records is carried out in accordance with the policies and procedures of the records management program and the requirements of state law;

(13)

Maintain records on the volume of records destroyed under 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;

(14)

Report annually to the municipality on the implementation of the records management plan in each department of the city, including summaries of the statistical and fiscal data compiled under subsection (13) of this section; and

(15)

Bring to the attention of the city 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 (V.T.C.A., Local Government Code ch. 201 et seq.).

(1999 Code, sec. 2-138)

In addition to other duties assigned in this article, department heads shall:

Cooperate with the records management officer in carrying out the policies and procedures established in the city for the efficient and economical management of records and in carrying out the requirements of this article;

Adequately document the transaction of government business and the services, programs and duties for which the department head and his staff are responsible; and

§ 1.02.010 Designation of records liaison officers.

Maintain the records in his 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 city and the requirements of this article.

(1999 Code, sec. 2-139)

Each department head shall designate a member of his staff to serve as records liaison officer for the implementation of the records management program in the department. If the records management officer determines that in the best interests of the records management program more than one records liaison officer should be designated for a department, the department head shall designate the number of records liaison officers specified by the records management officer. Persons designated as records liaison officers shall be thoroughly familiar with all the records created and maintained by the department and shall have full access to all records of the city maintained by the department. In the event of the resignation, retirement, dismissal or removal by action of the department head of a person designated as a records liaison officer, the department head shall promptly designate another person to fill the vacancy. A department head may serve as records liaison officer for his department.

(1999 Code, sec. 2-140)

§ 1.02.011 Duties and responsibilities of records liaison officers.

In addition to other duties assigned in this article, records liaison officers shall:

Conduct or supervise the conduct of inventories of the records of the department in preparation for the development of records control schedules;

In cooperation with the records management officer, coordinate and implement the policies and procedures of the records management program in their departments; and

§ 1.02.012 Records control schedules to be developed; approval; filing with state.

Disseminate information to department staff concerning the records management program.

(1999 Code, sec. 2-141)

The records management officer, in cooperation with department heads and records liaison officers, 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.

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.

§ 1.02.013 Implementation of records control schedules; destruction of records under schedule.

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 records management committee.

(d)

Before its adoption, a records control schedule must be submitted and accepted for filing by the director and librarian of the state library and archives commission 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. 2-142)

A records control schedule for a department that has been approved and adopted under section 1.02.007 shall be implemented by department heads and records liaison officers according to the policies and procedures of the records management plan.

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 committee that the record be retained for an additional period.

§ 1.02.014 Destruction of unscheduled records.

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.

(1999 Code, sec. 2-143)

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 of the state library and archives commission an approved destruction authorization request.

(1999 Code, sec. 2-144)

§ 1.02.015 Records center.

A records center, developed pursuant to the plan required by section 1.02.007, shall be under the direct control and supervision of the records management officer. Policies and procedures regulating the operations and use of the records center shall be contained in the records management plan developed under section 1.02.007.

(1999 Code, sec. 2-145)

§ 1.02.016 Micrographics.

Unless a micrographics program in a department is specifically exempted by order of the municipality, all microfilming of records will be centralized and under the direct supervision of the records management officer. The records management plan will establish policies and procedures for the microfilming of municipal records, including policies to ensure that all microfilming is done in accordance with standards and procedures for the microfilming of local government records established in rules of the state library and archives commission. The plan will also establish criteria for determining the eligibility of records for microfilming and protocols for ensuring that a microfilming program that is exempted from the centralized operations is, nevertheless, subject to periodic review by the records management officer as to cost-effectiveness, administrative efficiency and compliance with commission rules.

(1999 Code, sec. 2-146)

§ 1.02.017 Time limits for responding to certain requests.

Annual time limit.

Pursuant to Texas Government Code section 552.275(a) and (b), thirty-six (36) hours is the reasonable limit on the amount of time that personnel of the city are required to spend producing public information for inspection or duplication by a requestor, or providing copies of public information to a requestor in any given twelve-month period commencing on October 1st of each year, without recovering the city's costs attributable to that personnel time.

Monthly time limit.

Pursuant to Texas Government Code section 552.275(a) and (b), fifteen (15) hours is the reasonable limit on the amount of time that personnel of the city are required to spend producing public information for inspection or duplication by a requestor, or providing copies of public information to a requestor in any given monthly period commencing on the 1st date of each month, without recovering the city's costs attributable to that personnel time.