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 of 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.
(2007 Code, sec. 1.05.001)
Any officer who by ordinance, order, appointment or administrative
policy is in charge of an office of the city that creates or receives
records.
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.
Any record of the city for which the retention period on
a records control schedule is given as permanent.
Any 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.
Any 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.
The person designated in section 1.04.005 of this article.
The plan developed under section 1.04.006 of this article.
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.
(2007 Code, sec. 1.05.002)
All city records as defined in section 1.04.001 of this article are hereby declared to be the property of the city. No city 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.
(2007 Code, sec. 1.05.003)
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
city records from their creation to their ultimate disposition, consistent
with the requirements of the Texas Local Government Records Act and
accepted records management practice.
(2007 Code, sec. 1.05.004)
The city secretary, and the successive holders of said office,
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 days of the initial designation or of taking up the office,
as applicable.
(2007 Code, sec. 1.05.005)
(a)
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 city, and to properly preserve those records of the city 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.
(2007 Code, sec. 1.05.006)
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 city 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)
Provide
records management advice and assistance to all city departments by
preparation of a manual or manuals of procedure and policy and by
on-site consultation;
(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 city’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)
Instruct
personnel in policies and procedures of the records management plan
and their duties in the records management program;
(10)
Ensure that the maintenance, preservation, microfilming, destruction,
or other disposition of the city 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 microfilmed or stored
electronically, and the estimated cost and space savings as the result
of such disposal or disposition.
(2007 Code, sec. 1.05.007)
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.
(2007 Code, sec. 1.05.008)
(a)
The
records management officer, in cooperation with department heads,
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 city
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, the city manager,
and the finance director.
(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.
(2007 Code, sec. 1.05.009)
Appropriate records control schedules issued by the state library
and archives commission shall be adopted by the records management
officer for use in the city, as provided by law. Any destruction of
records of the city will be in accordance with these schedules and
the Local Government Records Act.
(2007 Code, sec. 1.05.010)
(a)
A records control schedule for a department that has been approved and adopted under section 1.04.010 shall be implemented by department heads 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 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 from the city manager
and the finance director.
(2007 Code, sec. 1.05.011)
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.
(2007 Code, sec. 1.05.012)
A records center, developed pursuant to the plan required by section 1.04.006, 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 1.04.006.
(2007 Code, sec. 1.05.013)
All contracts approved by the city council are a public record
unless otherwise prohibited by law and clearly marked on the contract
or pages or exhibits of the contract with the exception from public
disclosure.
(Ordinance O-2024-028 adopted 4/18/2024)
