For the purpose of this article, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning:
Department head.
The officer who, by ordinance 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 its operations in an emergency or disaster, to the re-creation of its legal and financial status, or to the protection and fulfillment of obligations to the people of the state.
Municipal records.
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 them 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.
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 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 officer.
The person designated in section 1.07.004.
Records management plan.
The plan developed under section 1.07.004.
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.
(2002 Code, sec. 34.01)
(a) 
All municipal records, as defined in section 1.07.001, are hereby declared to be the property of the city.
(b) 
No municipal official or employee has, by virtue of his or her position, any personal or property right to the records, even though he or she may have developed or compiled them. The unauthorized destruction, removal from files or use of the records is prohibited.
(2002 Code, sec. 34.02)
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 their management from creation to ultimate disposition, consistent with the requirements of the Texas Local Government Records Act and accepted records management practice.
(2002 Code, sec. 34.03)
(a) 
(1) 
The city secretary, and the successive holders of the office, shall serve as records management officer for the city.
(2) 
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.
(b) 
(1) 
The records management officer 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 bedesigned to enable the records management officer to carry out his or her duties prescribed by state law and this article effectively.
(2) 
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.
(3) 
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.
(c) 
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 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 a forms design and control system for the city;
(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 city 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 records of the city 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 or through records destruction authorization requests, the volume of records microfilmed or stored electronically, and the estimated cost and space savings as the result of the disposal or disposition;
(11) 
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 (c)(10) above; and
(12) 
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.
(2002 Code, sec. 34.04)
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 tax 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 and the requirements of this article.
(2002 Code, sec. 34.05)
(a) 
(1) 
The records management officer, in cooperation with department heads, shall prepare records control schedules on a department-by-department basis, listing all records series created or received by the department and the retention period for each series. Records control schedules shall also contain other information regarding the disposition of municipal records as the records management plan may require.
(2) 
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.
(3) 
Before its adoption, a records control schedule or amended schedule for a department must be approved by the department head and the city council.
(4) 
Before its adoption, a records control schedule must be submitted to and accepted for filing by the director and librarian of the state library, 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 of the state library.
(b) 
(1) 
A records control schedule for a department that has been approved and adopted under subsection (a) above shall be implemented by department heads according to the policies and procedures of the records management plan.
(2) 
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 make the record be retained for an additional period.
(3) 
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 city council.
(2002 Code, sec. 34.06)
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 an approved destruction authorization request.
(2002 Code, sec. 34.07)