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 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 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.
(2004 Code, sec. 1.07.001)
The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this article, shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning:
Department head.
The officer who by ordinance, order, or administrative policy is in charge of an office of the city that creates or receives records.
Essential record.
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.
Permanent record.
Any record of the city 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 city, their retention periods, and other records disposition information that the records management program may require.
Records liaison officers.
The persons designated under section 1.06.010 of this article.
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 and electronic and other records storage systems.
Records management committee.
The committee established in section 1.06.006 of this article.
Records management officer.
The person designated in section 1.06.005 of this article.
Records management plan.
The plan developed under section 1.06.007 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.
(2004 Code, sec. 1.07.002)
All municipal records as defined in section 1.06.001 of this article are hereby declared to be the property of the city. No municipal 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.
(2004 Code, sec. 1.07.003)
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 Texas Local Government Records Act and accepted records management practice.
(2004 Code, sec. 1.07.004)
The city secretary 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 thirty (30) days of the initial designation or of taking up the office, as applicable.
(2004 Code, sec. 1.07.005)
A records management committee consisting of the city manager, city secretary, librarian, and city attorney is hereby established. The committee shall:
(1) 
Assist the records management officer in the development of policies and procedures governing the records management program;
(2) 
Review the performance of the program on a regular basis and propose changes and improvements if needed;
(3) 
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.
(2004 Code, sec. 1.07.006)
(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 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 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.
(2004 Code, sec. 1.07.007)
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 reestablish 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 a forms design and control system for the city;
(7) 
Provide records management advice and assistance to all municipal departments by preparation of a manual or 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 the records of the municipality 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 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;
(14) 
Report annually to the city council 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); and
(15) 
Bring to the attention of the city council noncompliance by department heads or other city personnel with the policies and procedures of the records management program or the Local Government Records Act.
(2004 Code, sec. 1.07.008)
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 city 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 city and the requirements of this article.
(2004 Code, sec. 1.07.009)
Each department head shall designate a member of his or her 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 or her department.
(2004 Code, sec. 1.07.010)
In addition to other duties assigned in this article, records liaison officers shall:
(1) 
Conduct or supervise the conduct of inventories of the records of the department in preparation for the development of records control schedules;
(2) 
In cooperation with the records management officer, coordinate and implement the policies and procedures of the records management program in their departments; and
(3) 
Disseminate information to department staff concerning the records management program.
(2004 Code, sec. 1.07.011)
(a) 
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.
(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 department head and 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.
(2004 Code, sec. 1.07.012)
(a) 
A records control schedule for a department that has been approved and adopted under section 1.06.012 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 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.
(2004 Code, sec. 1.07.013)
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.
(2004 Code, sec. 1.07.014)
A records center, developed pursuant to the plan required by section 1.06.007, shall be under the direct control and supervision of the records management officer. Policies and procedures regulating the operations and users of the records center shall be contained in the records management plan developed under section 1.06.007.
(2004 Code, sec. 1.07.015)