Commission.
The state library and archives commission.
Custodian.
The appointed or elected public officer who by this article is in charge of the office that creates or receives local government records. For the purpose of this article, a custodian is a department head under the administration of the town council who is responsible for all records in his/her department.
Director and librarian.
The executive and administrative officer of the state library and archives commission.
Essential record.
Any local government record necessary to the resumption or continuation of government 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.
Governing body.
The town council.
Local government record.
Any document, paper, letter, book, map, photograph, sound or video recording, microfilm, magnetic tape, electronic medium, or other information-recording medium, 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 local town government offices or any of its officers or employees pursuant to law, including an ordinance, or in the transaction of public business, are hereby declared to be records of the town and shall be created, maintained, and disposed of in accordance with the provisions of this article and the provisions of the Act [the Local Government Records Act]. The term does not include:
(1) 
Extra identical copies of documents created only for convenience of reference or research by officers or employees of the town;
(2) 
Notes, journals, diaries, and similar documents created by an officer or employee of the town for the employee’s personal convenience;
(3) 
Blank forms;
(4) 
Stocks of publications;
(5) 
Library and museum materials acquired solely for the purposes of reference or display; and
(6) 
Copies of documents in any media furnished to members of the public to which they are entitled under Tex. Gov’t Code section 552.001 et seq., V.T.C.A., or other state law.
Office.
Any office, department, division, program, commission, bureau, board, committee, or similar entity of the town.
Record.
A record of the town.
Records control schedule.
A document prepared by or under the authority of a records management officer listing the records maintained by the town, their retention periods, and other records disposition information that the records management program in the town or state law may require.
Records management.
The application of management techniques to the creation, use, maintenance, retention, preservation, and disposal of records for the purpose 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 electronic and other record storage systems.
Records retention schedule.
A document issued by the commission establishing mandatory retention periods for local government records.
Retention period.
The minimum time that must pass after the creation, recording, and receipt of a record or the fulfillment of certain actions associated with a record before it is eligible for destruction.
(2001 Code, sec. 7.101)
All town records as defined in section 1.05.001 are hereby declared to be the property of the town. No town official or employee has, by virtue of his/her position, any personal or property right to such records even though he/she may have developed or compiled them. The unauthorized destruction, removal from files, or use of such records is prohibited.
(2001 Code, sec. 7.102)
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 town 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 Act and accepted records management practice.
(2001 Code, sec. 7.103)
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/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.
(2001 Code, sec. 7.104)
(a) 
The records management officer will implement, but not be limited to, a program to encompass such areas of records management as are required to preserve and keep in order all books, papers, documents, records, and files of the town council and of the executive departments to achieve the following goals:
(1) 
Release space and reduce the need for storage and filing equipment;
(2) 
Establish an efficient retrieval operation for both active and inactive municipal records;
(3) 
Provide for routine disposition of paperwork;
(4) 
Maintain total security over municipal records;
(5) 
Communicate the need of an effective records management program; and
(6) 
Secure a central records storage facility which can be operated and maintained by records management staff.
(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 the records shall be created, maintained, stored, or disposed of in accordance with the plan.
(c) 
State law relating to the duties, other responsibilities, or recordkeeping requirements of a custodian do not exempt [such person from] the application of this article and the records management plan adopted under it and may not be used by the custodian as a basis for refusal to participate in the records management program of the town.
(2001 Code, sec. 7.105)
(a) 
This article shall be known and may be cited as the records management program of the town, providing for the proper and efficient management of the municipal records of the town.
(b) 
Since the citizens of the town have a right to expect efficient and cost-effective government, and recognizing the importance of local government records in the lives of all citizens, the efficient management of town records is necessary to the effective and economic operation of the town, the preservation of records of permanent value is necessary to provide the people of the state with resources concerning their history and to document their rights of citizenship and property, and the establishment of uniform standards and procedures for the maintenance, preservation, or disposition of town records is necessary to fulfill the high public purpose.
(2001 Code, sec. 7.106)
In addition to other duties assigned in this article, the records management officer shall:
(1) 
Administer the records management program and provide assistance to custodians in its implementation;
(2) 
Plan, formulate, and prescribe records disposition policies, systems, standards, and procedures;
(3) 
In cooperation with custodians, identify essential records and establish a disaster plan for each town 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 town;
(5) 
Establish standards for filing and storage equipment and for recordkeeping supplies;
(6) 
Establish a uniform filing system and a forms design and control system for the town;
(7) 
Provide records management advice and assistance to all town 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 town’s records control schedules are in compliance with state regulations;
(9) 
Disseminate to the town and custodians information concerning state laws and administrative rules relating to local government records;
(10) 
Ensure that the maintenance, preservation, destruction, or other disposition of the town [records] is carried out in accordance with the policies and procedures of the records management program and the requirements of state law;
(11) 
Maintain records on the volume of records destroyed under approved records control schedules, the volume of records stored electronically, and the estimated cost and space savings as the result of such disposal or disposition;
(12) 
Report annually to the town council on the implementation of the records management program;
(13) 
Bring the attention of the town council noncompliance by custodians or other personnel with the policies and procedures of the records management program or the Act; and
(14) 
Prepare and file with the director and librarian before January 2, 1995, the records control schedules and the lists of obsolete records required by the Act.
(2001 Code, sec. 7.107)
In addition to other duties assigned in this article, custodians 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 custodian and his/her staff are responsible; and
(3) 
Maintain the records in his/her care and carry out their preservation, 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.
(2001 Code, sec. 7.108)
The town council shall:
(1) 
Establish, promote, and support an active and continuing program for the efficient and economical management of all town records;
(2) 
Cause policies and procedures to be developed for the administration of the program under the direction of the records management officer;
(3) 
Facilitate the creation and maintenance of town records containing adequate and proper documentation of the organization, functions, policies, decisions, procedures, and essential transactions of the town and designed to furnish the information necessary to protect the legal and financial rights of the town, the state and persons affected by the activities of town government;
(4) 
Facilitate the identification and preservation of town records that are of permanent value;
(5) 
Facilitate the identification and protection of essential town records;
(6) 
Cooperate with the commission in its conduct of statewide records management surveys; and
(7) 
Review of a records control schedule or amended schedule by the officers of the town as is considered necessary.
(2001 Code, sec. 7.109)
(a) 
The records management officer, in cooperation with custodians, shall prepare records control schedules listing all records created or received by the custodians and the retention period for each record. Records control schedules shall also contain such other information regarding the disposition of the town records as the 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 town.
(c) 
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.
(2001 Code, sec. 7.110)
(a) 
A records control schedule for a department that has been approved and adopted shall be implemented 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 custodian 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.
(2001 Code, sec. 7.111)
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.
(2001 Code, sec. 7.112)
(a) 
For the purpose of this section, “electronic storage” means the maintenance of local government record data in the form of digital electronic signals on a computer hard disk, magnetic tape, optical disk, or similar machine-readable medium.
(b) 
For the purpose of this section, “source document” means the local government record from which local government record data is obtained for electronic storage. The term does not include backup copies of the data in any media generated from electronic storage.
(c) 
Any town record data may be stored electronically in addition to or instead of source documents in paper or other media, subject to the requirements of the Act and rules adopted under it.
(d) 
The town will be subject to rules established by the commission standards and procedures for electronic storage and will be subject to the provisions of chapter 205 of the Act.
(2001 Code, sec. 7.113)