(a)
All
papers, correspondence, memoranda, accounts, reports, maps, plans,
photographs, sound and video recordings, files, microform, magnetic
or paper tape, punched cards, or other documents, regardless of physical
form or characteristic, which have been or shall be created, received,
filed or recorded by any Town office or department or its lawful successor,
or officials thereof, in pursuance of law or ordinance or in the conduct,
transaction or performance of any business, duty or function of public
business, whether or not confidential or restricted in use, are hereby
declared to be records of the Town and shall be, without limitation,
created, maintained and disposed of in accordance with all provisions
of this article or procedures authorized by it and in no other manner.
(b)
Library
and museum materials, including but not limited to materials acquired
solely for reference, exhibit and/or display, and stocks of publications
shall not constitute records for purposes of this article.
(1971 Code, sec. 2-141)
All Town records as defined in section 1.08.001 are hereby declared to be property of the Town. No Town official and/or employee or his or her successors 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, and/or use of such records is prohibited.
(1971 Code, sec. 2-142)
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 disposition of all
records through a comprehensive system of integrated procedures for
the management of records from their creation to their ultimate disposition.
(1971 Code, sec. 2-143)
The Town Administrator is hereby designated as Records Management
Officer for the Town. The Records Management Officer shall cause his
or her name to be filed with the Director and Librarian of the State
Library within thirty (30) days of the effective date of this article
(ordinance adopted December 17, 1990). Any of the duties imposed upon
the Records Management Officer by this article may be delegated to
any official or employee of the Town under the administrative control
of the Town Administrator.
(1971 Code, sec. 2-144)
The Records Management Officer shall have the following duties;
however, duties assigned shall be limited to records management activities:
(1)
Plan,
formulate and prescribe basic files management and records disposition
policies, systems, standards and procedures;
(2)
Prepare
records retention and disposition schedules in cooperation with department
heads for all offices and departments, define and identify all vital
and permanent records, and establish retention periods for all records.
Retention periods shall be no shorter than desired by the originating
office or department but shall be as long as deemed necessary by either
the Records Management Officer or Records Management Committee;
(3)
Review
schedules annually and update or amend schedules if needed;
(4)
Provide
records management advice and assistance to department heads for all
offices and departments by preparation of manuals outlining procedures
and policies and by on-site consultation;
(5)
Develop,
disseminate and coordinate files maintenance and records disposition
procedures, without limitation to those prescribed by this article,
to meet the current and long-term information needs of the Town;
(6)
Train
departmental Records Officers and other personnel in the fundamentals
of records management and their duties in the records management program;
(7)
Carry
out at the proper time actions such as microphotography, destruction
and transfers that are required by records schedules;
(8)
Establish,
monitor and require compliance with standards for filing and storage
equipment and supplies in all offices and departments;
(9)
Develop
Town-wide forms design and control system;
(10)
Establish, in cooperation with other responsible officials or employees,
a disaster plan for each Town office or department to ensure maximum
availability of records for reestablishing operations quickly and
with minimum disruption and expense;
(11)
Develop procedures to ensure the permanent preservation of the historically
valuable records of the Town;
(12)
Protect privacy and assure availability of public information from
records, and bring to the attention of the Town Administrator any
office or department not in compliance with laws or regulations regarding
public access to information or protection of privacy.
(1971 Code, sec. 2-145)
All Town department heads are responsible for the implementation
and operation of effective files operations, records transfers and
dispositions and other activities in accordance with the provisions
of this article within their areas of responsibility. They are designated
Records Officers and will provide the Records Management Officer the
names of such designees of all file stations and file custodians under
their supervision.
(1971 Code, sec. 2-146)
The Records Officer in each office or department is responsible
for providing coordination between the Records Management Officer
and personnel in his or her office or department to ensure that all
provisions of this article are complied with. This responsibility
shall include overseeing the application of records schedules within
his or her office and/or department.
(1971 Code, sec. 2-147)
All Town offices and departments shall adopt records retention
and disposition schedules and destroy, transfer or otherwise dispose
of records only according to such schedules.
(1971 Code, sec. 2-148)
(a)
A
Records Management Committee consisting of the Town department heads
and Town Attorney is hereby established. This 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 as needed;
(3)
Review and approve records control schedules;
(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 Town.
(b)
The
records retention and disposition schedule shall be submitted to the
Town Council for approval and, upon approval, shall constitute full
authority to destroy, transfer, microphotograph or take other actions.
The Records Management Officer shall notify the State Librarian of
intended destruction as required by law, but no further notice to
the State or Town shall be required.
(c)
Revision
of retention periods shall be submitted for review and adopted in
the same manner as the original retention periods.
(1971 Code, sec. 2-149)
Prior to adoption of records schedules for an office or department,
a one-time destruction of accumulated obsolete records of that office
or department may be made as approved by the Town Council under the
supervision of the Records Management Officer. Prior to such destruction,
the Records Management Officer shall submit lists of any records to
be destroyed to the Records Management Committee. The Committee shall
give written notice within ten (10) working days of any records the
Committee deems should not be destroyed, and such records shall be
retained for a period suggested by the Committee. The Records Management
Officer shall also submit notice as required by law to the State Librarian.
Obsolete records shall include without limitation records no longer
created by the office or department and no longer needed for administrative,
legal, fiscal or other research purposes.
(1971 Code, sec. 2-150)
The Records Management Officer shall develop procedures to ensure
the permanent preservation of the historically valuable records of
the Town. The Records Management Officer shall provide housing under
archival conditions for such records in a municipal facility and in
such manner that the records, unless their use is restricted by law
or regulation, are open to the public for research purposes. If Town-owned
facilities are not available, the Records Management Officer shall
arrange for the transfer of the records to the State Library for perpetual
care and preservation in one of its nearby regional historical resource
depositories, or shall make other arrangements for their permanent
preservation not contrary to law or regulation. In no circumstances
shall any permanent records of the Town be transferred to private
individuals, to private historical societies or museums, or to private
colleges or universities.
(1971 Code, sec. 2-151)
A centralized micrographics program shall be designed and implemented
by the Records Management Officer to serve all Town offices and departments.
Unless a micrographics program in an office or department is specifically
exempted by order of the Town Council, all microfilming of records
will be centralized and under direct supervision of the Records Management
Officer. The records management plan will establish policies and procedures
for the microfilming of Town records, including without limitation
policies to ensure that all microfilming is done in accordance with
standards and procedures for microfilming of local government records
established in rules of the State Library and Archives Commission.
The plan will also establish criteria for determining eligibility
of records for microfilming. Procedures will be established for ensuring
that microfilm programs exempt from the centralized operations are
reviewed periodically for their cost effectiveness, administrative
efficiency and conformance with State Library rules.
(1971 Code, sec. 2-152)
(a)
Upon written request, and subject to Texas Government Code section 552.221, the personnel of the Town shall produce the Town’s nonexempted, public information for inspection or duplication. Except as limited by subsection (b) below, the Town shall not recover from the requestor the Town’s costs attributable to said personnel time. The personnel of the Town may also provide copies of nonexempted, public information to a requestor without recovering from the requestor the Town’s costs attributable to said personnel time and in accordance with State law.
(b)
In
accordance with Texas Government Code section 552.275(a) and (b),
as amended, the Town may charge a requestor the hourly rate for that
Town personnel involved in (1) producing the Town’s nonexempted,
public information for inspection or duplication to the requestor;
and/or (2) providing copies of nonexempted, public information to
the requestor, if and when the Town previously spent thirty-six (36)
hours performing subsections (1) or (2) during the 12-month period
that corresponds to the Town’s fiscal year.
(c)
In accordance with Texas Government Code section 552.275(d) and (e), as amended, prior to charging a requestor under subsection (b) above, the Town must have provided the requestor with separate written statements of the personnel time spent complying with those request(s), as well as the cumulative amount of time spent complying with those request(s), that comprise the thirty-six (36) hours during said 12-month period.
(Ordinance 1792 adopted 5/10/09)
