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, consistent with the requirements of the Texas Local Government Records Act and accepted records management practice.
(1999 Code, sec. 34.01)
For the purpose of this article, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning:
City 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 it 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. The city records shall be created, maintained, and disposed of in accordance with the provisions of the state library and archives commission.
Department head.
The officer who by ordinance, order, 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 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.
Permanent record.
Any record of the city for which the retention period on a records control schedule is given as permanent.
Records control schedule.
Control schedules issued by the state library and archives commission.
Records liaison officers.
The persons designated under section 1.04.008.
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 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 committee.
The committee established in section 1.04.005.
Records management officer.
The person designated in section 1.04.004.
Records management plan.
The plan developed under this article.
Retention period.
The minimum time that must pass after creation, recording, or receipt of a record, or the fulfillment of certain actions associated with a record, before it is eligible for destruction.
(1999 Code, sec. 34.02)
All city records as defined in section 1.04.002 are 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.
(1999 Code, sec. 34.03)
The city secretary, and the successive holders of the 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 30 days of the initial designation or of taking up the office, as applicable.
(1999 Code, sec. 34.04)
(a) 
Establishment.
A records management committee, consisting of the city manager, office manager, city attorney, and public works director, is established.
(b) 
Duties.
The committee shall:
(1) 
Review the performance of the program on a regular basis and propose changes and improvements if needed;
(2) 
Give final approval to the destruction of records in accordance with approved records control schedules; and
(3) 
Actively support and promote the records management program throughout the city.
(1999 Code, sec. 34.05)
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) 
Study the feasibility of and, if appropriate, establish a uniform filing system and a forms design and control system for the city;
(7) 
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;
(8) 
Monitor records retention schedules and administrative rules issued by the state library and archives commission to determine if the records management program is in compliance with state regulations;
(9) 
Disseminate to the city and department heads information concerning state laws and administrative rules relating to local government records;
(10) 
Instruct records liaison officers and other personnel in policies and procedures of the records management plan and their duties in the records management program;
(11) 
Direct records liaison officers or other personnel in the conduct of records inventories as required by state law and this article;
(12) 
Ensure that the maintenance, preservation, microfilming, destruction, or other disposition of city records is carried out in accordance with the policies and procedures of the records management program and the requirements of state law;
(13) 
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;
(14) 
Bring to the attention of the city council noncompliance by department heads or other city personnel with the policies and procedures of the records management program or the Texas Local Government Records Act.
(1999 Code, sec. 34.06)
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.
(1999 Code, sec. 34.07)
Each department head shall designate a member of his or her staff to serve as records liaison officer for the implementation of the records management program in the department. If the records management officer determines that in the best interest of the records management program more than one records liaison officer should be designated for a department, the department head shall designate the number of records liaison officers specified by the records management officer. Persons designated as records liaison officers shall be thoroughly familiar with all the records created and maintained by the department and shall have full access to all records of the city maintained by the department. In the event of the resignation, retirement, dismissal or removal by action of the department head of a person designated as records liaison officer, the department head shall promptly designate another person to fill the vacancy. A department head may serve as records liaison officer for his or her department.
(1999 Code, sec. 34.08)
In addition to other duties assigned in this article, records liaison officers shall:
(1) 
Conduct or supervise the conduct of inventories of the records of the department in preparation for the development of records control schedules;
(2) 
In cooperation with the records management officer, coordinate and implement the policies and procedures of the records management program in their departments; and
(3) 
Disseminate information to department staff concerning the records management program.
(1999 Code, sec. 34.09)
The city hereby adopts the current records control schedules and any future amendments to said schedules that comply with the minimum requirements established on records retention schedules issued by the state library and archives commission.
(1999 Code, sec. 34.10)