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 city 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 city and shall be
created, maintained, and disposed of in accordance with the provisions
of this division or procedures authorized by it and in no other manner.
Library and museum materials acquired solely for reference,
exhibit, or display and stocks of publications shall not constitute
records for purpose of this division.
(2005 Code, sec. 2.5.01)
All city records as defined in section
1.08.031 of this division 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.
(2005 Code, sec. 2.5.02)
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
city records through a comprehensive system of integrated procedures
for the management of records from their creation to their ultimate
disposition.
(2005 Code, sec. 2.5.03)
There is hereby established a records management function, and
the city secretary is hereby made responsible for directing the function
and coordinating records management operations among the city offices
and departments.
(2005 Code, sec. 2.5.04)
The city secretary, as records manager, shall have the following
duties:
(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 city offices and departments, define and identify vital
and permanent records, and establish retention periods for all records.
Retention periods shall be no shorter than desired by the originating
office, but shall be as long as deemed necessary by either the records
manager, the city attorney, or the city finance officer.
(3) Review
schedules annually and update or amend as needed.
(4) Coordinate
the city-wide files management and records disposition programs and
report annually to the city council on program effectiveness in each
city department.
(5) Provide
records management advice and assistance to all city offices and departments,
by preparation of manuals of procedure and policies and by on-site
consultation.
(6) Develop,
disseminate, and coordinate files maintenance and records disposition
procedures, including but not limited to those prescribed by this
division, to meet the current and long-term information needs of the
city.
(7) Train
department records officers and other personnel in the fundamentals
of records management and their duties in the records management program.
(8) Carry
out at the proper time actions such as microphotography, destruction,
and transfers that are required by records schedules.
(9) Design
and manage the operations of a records center.
(10) Establish and monitor compliance with standards for filing and storage
equipment and supplies in all city offices and departments, and report
to the city council failure of any officer or department to comply
with standards.
(11) Keep careful records of savings in equipment, supplies, and staff
costs realized by each department of the city through implementation
of the records management program, and report annually such cost savings
to the city council.
(12) Establish in cooperation with other responsible city officials a
disaster plan for each city office and department to insure maximum
availability of records for re-establishing operations quickly and
with minimum disruption and expense.
(13) Develop procedures to insure the permanent preservation of the historically
valuable records of the city.
(14) Protect privacy and assure availability of public information from
records stored in the records center; bring to the attention of the
city council any office not in compliance with laws or ordinances
regarding public access to information or protection of privacy.
(15) Prepare and submit annually to the city council the budget requirements
of the records management function to enable it to fulfill the records
management goals of the city.
(2005 Code, sec. 2.5.05)
All city offices and 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 division within their areas of responsibility.
(2005 Code, sec. 2.5.06)
All city offices and departments shall adopt records retention
and disposition schedules and destroy, transfer, or otherwise dispose
of records only according to such schedules.
(2005 Code, sec. 2.5.07)
The city secretary shall develop records retention schedules
in cooperation with the city finance officer and city attorney. When
a records retention and disposition schedule is adopted, it shall
thenceforth constitute full authority to destroy, transfer, microphotograph,
or take other actions, and the city council hereby directs that such
action be taken by the city secretary or under his/her supervision.
The city secretary shall notify the state librarian of intended destruction,
as required by law, but no further notice to the city council or other
city office shall be required. Revision of retention periods shall
be submitted for review to the city attorney and city finance officer
in the same manner as the original retention periods.
(2005 Code, sec. 2.5.08)
Prior to adoption of records schedules for an office, one-time
destruction of accumulated obsolete records of that office may be
made by or under the supervision of the city secretary. Prior to such
destruction the city secretary shall submit lists of records to be
destroyed to the city finance officer and the city attorney, who shall
give notice within 10 working days of any records they believe should
not be destroyed, and such records shall be retained for a period
suggested by either. The city secretary shall also submit notice as
required by law to the state librarian. Obsolete records shall include
those no longer created by the office or department and no longer
needed for administrative, legal, fiscal, or other research purposes.
(2005 Code, sec. 2.5.09)
The city secretary shall develop procedures to insure the permanent
preservation of the historically valuable records of the city. The
city secretary shall provide housing under archival conditions for
such records in the records center or in another 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 city-owned facilities are not available, the city secretary 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 the permanent records of the city be transferred to private
individuals, to private historical societies or museums, or to private
colleges or universities.
(2005 Code, sec. 2.5.10)
Records no longer required in the conduct of current business
by any office of the city shall be promptly transferred to the records
center or archives of the state library, or be destroyed, at the time
such action is designated on an approved records schedule. Such records
shall not be maintained in current office files or equipment.
(2005 Code, sec. 2.5.11)