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 the division or procedures authorized by it and in no other manner.
(Ordinance 167-91, sec. 1, adopted 10/14/91)
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.
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, and control over the creation and distribution of forms, reports and other records storage systems.
Records management officer.
The person designated in section 1.06.035 of this division.
Records management plan.
The plan developed under section 1.06.036 of this division.
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.
(Ordinance 167-91, sec. 2, adopted 10/14/91)
All municipal records as defined in section 1.06.031 of this division are hereby declared to be the property of the city. No municipal 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.
(Ordinance 167-91, sec. 3, adopted 10/14/91)
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.
(Ordinance 167-91, sec. 4, adopted 10/14/91)
The city secretary, and successive holders of such 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.
(Ordinance 167-91, sec. 5, adopted 10/14/91)
(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 municipality, and to properly preserve those records of the municipality 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 division effectively.
(b) 
Once approved 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 division 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.
(Ordinance 167-91, sec. 6, adopted 10/14/91)
In addition to other duties assigned in this division, 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 re-establish 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 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 such 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 (10); 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.
(Ordinance 167-91, sec. 7, adopted 10/14/91)
In addition to other duties assigned in this division, 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 division;
(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 division.
(Ordinance 167-91, sec. 8, adopted 10/14/91)
(a) 
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 such other information regarding the disposition of municipal 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 and the city council.
(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 acceptable for filing. The records management officer shall submit the records control schedules to the director and librarian.
(Ordinance 167-91, sec. 9, adopted 10/14/91)
(a) 
A records control schedule for a department that has been approved and adopted under section 1.06.039 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 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 by the records management officer from the city council.
(Ordinance 167-91, sec. 10, adopted 10/14/91)
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.
(Ordinance 167-91, sec. 11, adopted 10/14/91)
(a) 
Pursuant to the Local Government Records Act any local government 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 Local Government Records Act, chapter 205 and rules adopted under it or successor regulations or laws.
(b) 
Unless a micrographics/electronic storage program in a department is specifically exempted by order of the city, all microfilming/electronic storage of records will be centralized and under the direct supervision of the records management officer.
(c) 
The records management plan will establish policies and procedures for the microfilming/electronic storage of city records, including policies to ensure that all microfilming/electronic storage is done in accordance with standards and procedures for the microfilming/electronic storage of local government records established in rules of the state library and archives commission.
(d) 
The plan will also establish criteria for determining the eligibility of records for microfilming/electronic storage and protocols for ensuring that a microfilming/electronic storage program that is exempted from the centralized operations is, nevertheless, subject to periodic review by the records management officer as to cost effectiveness, administrative efficiency, and compliance with city rules.
(Ordinance 850-24 adopted 5/23/2024)