The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this article,
shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, except where
the context clearly indicates a different meaning:
means the officer who by ordinance or administrative policy
is in charge of an office of the city that creates or receives records.
means the executive and administrative officer of the state
library and archives commission.
means 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.
means any record of the city for which the retention period
on a records control schedule is given as permanent.
means information that is collected, assembled or maintained
under a law or ordinance or in connection with the transaction of
official business by a governmental body or for a governmental body
and the governmental body owns the information or has a right of access
to it.
means the portion of all documents, writings, letters, memoranda
or other written, printed, typed, copied or developed materials that
contains public information.
means 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.
means 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;
Control over the creation and distribution of forms, reports
and correspondence; and
The management of micrographics and electronic and other records
storage systems.
means the person designated in section 1.06.005.
means the plan developed under section 1.06.006.
means 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 3-91, sec. 2, adopted 9/17/1991; 1999 Code, sec. 2-281)
(a)
Every
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 the city or any of its officers
or employees pursuant to law, including an ordinance, or in the transaction
of public business is declared to be a record 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.
(b)
The
following are declared not to be records of the city:
(1)
Extra identical copies of documents created only for convenience
of reference or research by officers or employees of the city;
(2)
Notes, journals, diaries and similar documents created by an officer
or employee of the city for the officer’s or 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;
(6)
Copies of documents in any media furnished to members of the public
to which they are entitled under V.T.C.A., Government Code ch. 552,
or other state law; or
(7)
Any records, correspondence, notes, memoranda or other documents
associated with a matter conducted under an alternative dispute resolution
procedure in which personnel of a state department or institution,
local government, special district or other political subdivision
of the state participated as a party, facilitated as an impartial
third party, or facilitated as the administrator of a dispute resolution
system or organization.
(Ordinance 3-91, sec. 1, adopted 9/17/1991; 1999 Code, sec. 2-282)
All municipal records are declared to be the property of the
city. No municipal official or employee has, by virtue of his position,
any personal or property right to such records even though he may
have developed or compiled them. The unauthorized destruction, removal
from files or use of such records is prohibited.
(Ordinance 3-91, sec. 3, adopted 9/17/1991; 1999 Code, sec. 2-283)
It is 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 (V.T.C.A., Local Government
Code ch. 201 et seq.) and accepted records management practice.
(Ordinance 3-91, sec. 4, adopted 9/17/1991; 1999 Code, sec. 2-284)
The city secretary shall serve as records management officer
for the city. As provided by state law, each successive holder of
the office shall file his name with the director and librarian within
30 days of the initial designation or of taking up the office, as
applicable.
(Ordinance 3-91, sec. 5, adopted 9/17/1991; 1999 Code, sec. 2-285)
(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 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.
(Ordinance 3-91, sec. 6, adopted 9/17/1991; 1999 Code, sec. 2-286)
In addition to other duties assigned in this article or by law,
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 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)
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)
Ensure
that the maintenance, preservation, microfilming, destruction or other
disposition of the records of the city is 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) of this section; 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 (V.T.C.A., Local Government Code ch. 201 et seq.).
(Ordinance 3-91, sec. 7, adopted 9/17/1991; 1999 Code, sec. 2-287)
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 staff are
responsible; and
(3)
Maintain
the records in his 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.
(Ordinance 3-91, sec. 8, adopted 9/17/1991; 1999 Code, sec. 2-288)
(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 it acceptable for filing. The records management
officer shall submit the records control schedules to the director
and librarian.
(Ordinance 3-91, sec. 9, adopted 9/17/1991; 1999 Code, sec. 2-289)
(a)
A records control schedule for a department that has been approved and adopted under section 1.06.009 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 by the records
management officer from the city council.
(Ordinance 3-91, sec. 10, adopted 9/17/1991; 1999 Code, sec. 2-290)
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 3-91, sec. 11, adopted 9/17/1991; 1999 Code, sec. 2-291)
(a)
It
shall be the policy of the city to provide suitable copies of all
public records within a reasonable period of time after the date copies
are requested.
(b)
Information
deemed confidential by law, either constitutional, statutory or by
judicial decision, shall not be distributed.
(1999 Code, sec. 2-292)
(a)
Public
records are available during normal business hours of the city for
inspection or duplication.
(b)
All
records requested for inspection or duplication shall be obtained
only by written request made to the city secretary.
(c)
On
application for public records, the city secretary shall promptly
produce such information for inspection or duplication, or both. If
the records are in active use or in storage, and therefore not available,
the city secretary shall certify this fact in writing to the applicant
and set a date and hour within a reasonable time when the records
will be available.
(d)
At
no time shall any person remove original copies of public records
from the offices of the city without the written permission of the
city administrator.
(e)
At
no time shall any person receive public records without prior written
request made to the city secretary.
(1999 Code, sec. 2-293)
(a)
The
cost to any person requesting non-certified photographic reproductions
of public records comprised of pages up to legal size shall not be
excessive. The city shall use guidelines established by the state
general services commission to determine charges.
(b)
A
bond for payment of costs for the preparation of public records, or
a prepayment in cash of the anticipated costs for the preparation
of such records, may be required if the charge for the copy is estimated
by the city to exceed $100.00.
(c)
Cost of copies shall be determined by the city council and shall be on file in the office of the city secretary and as set forth in the fee schedule in appendix A of this code.
(d)
Cost
of copies of non-standard-sized pages of records, in computer banks,
on microfilm, or in other systems shall be determined using specific
cost components, including but not limited to labor hours and rates,
computer times and rates, cost for materials, and other applicable
costs.
(e)
Charges
for copies made under the public information law (V.T.C.A., Government
Code ch. 552) are exempt from sales tax.
(1999 Code, sec. 2-294; Ordinance
adopting 2018 Code)
