Any 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 of Panhandle or any of its officers or employees pursuant to law in the transaction of public business is hereby declared to be a record of the City of Panhandle 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. The term does not include:
(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; or
(4) 
stocks of publications.
(1993 Code of Ordinances, Appendix 4)
Department Head.
Means the officer who by ordinance or administrative policy is in charge of an office of the City of Panhandle that creates or receives records.
Essential Record.
Means any record of the City of Panhandle necessary to the resumption or continuation of operations of the City of Panhandle in an emergency or disaster, to the recreation of the legal and financial status of the City of Panhandle, or to the protection and fulfillment of obligations to the people of the state.
Permanent Record.
Means any record of the City of Panhandle for which the retention period on a records control schedule is given as permanent.
Records Control Schedule.
Means a document prepared by or under the authority of the records management officer listing the records maintained by the City of Panhandle, their retention periods, and other records disposition information that the records management program may require.
Records Management.
Means the application of management techniques to the creation, use, maintenance, retention, preservation, and disposal of records for the purpose 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.
Records Management Officer.
Means the person designated in Section 1.605 of this article.
Records Management Plan.
Means the plan developed under Section 1.607 of this article.
Retention Period.
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.
(1993 Code of Ordinances, Appendix 4)
All city records as defined in Section 1.601 of this article are hereby declared to be the property of the City of Panhandle. 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.
(1993 Code of Ordinances, Appendix 4)
It is hereby declared to be the policy of the City of Panhandle 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.
(1993 Code of Ordinances, Appendix 4)
The city secretary, and the successive holders of said office, shall serve as records management officer for the City of Panhandle. As provided by state law, each successive holder of the office shall file his or her name with the director and librarian of the Texas State Library within thirty days of the initial designation or of taking up the office, as applicable.
(1993 Code of Ordinances, Appendix 4)
The city manager shall have final oversight responsibility for the records management program. In performing this function, the city manager shall:
(1) 
assist the records management officer in the development of policies and procedures governing the records management program;
(2) 
review the performance of the program on a regular basis and propose changes and improvements if needed;
(3) 
review and approve records control schedules submitted by the records management officer;
(4) 
give final approval to the destruction of records in accordance with approved records control schedules; and
(5) 
actively support and promote the records management program throughout the City of Panhandle.
(1993 Code of Ordinances, Appendix 4)
(a) 
The records management officer and the city manager 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 of Panhandle and records shall be created, maintained, stored, microfilmed, or disposed of in accordance with the plan.
(c) 
State laws 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 of Panhandle.
(1993 Code of Ordinances, Appendix 4)
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 of Panhandle;
(7) 
provide records management advice and assistance to all city departments by preparation procedures and by on-site consultation;
(8) 
monitor records retention schedules and administrative rules issued by the Texas 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;
(9) 
disseminate to the city council and department heads information concerning state laws and administrative rules relating to local government records;
(10) 
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;
(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.
(1993 Code of Ordinances, Appendix 4)
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 of Panhandle 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 of Panhandle and the requirements of this article.
(1993 Code of Ordinances, Appendix 4)
(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 the 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 of Panhandle.
(c) 
Before its adoption, a records control schedule or amended schedule for a department must be approved by the department head and the city manager.
(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.
(e) 
All records control schedules for the city must be filed and approved as provided in this section no later than January 2, 1995, and shall also be prepared in accordance with Section 203.041, et seq., of the Texas Local Government Code, as amended.
(1993 Code of Ordinances, Appendix 4)
(a) 
A records control schedule for a department that has been approved and adopted under Section 1.607 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 addition 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 manager.
(1993 Code of Ordinances, Appendix 4)
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.
(1993 Code of Ordinances, Appendix 4)
A records center, developed pursuant to the plan required by Section 1.607, 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 1.607.
(1993 Code of Ordinances, Appendix 4)
Unless a micrographics program in a department is specifically exempted by order of the city council, all microfilming of records will be centralized and under the direct supervision of the records management officer. The records management plan will establish policies and procedures for the microfilming of city records, including policies to ensure that all microfilming is done in accordance with standards and procedures for the microfilming of local government records established in rules of the Texas State Library and Archives Commission. The plan will also establish criteria for determining the eligibility of records for microfilming and protocols for ensuring that a microfilming 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 commission rules.
(1993 Code of Ordinances, Appendix 4)
All of the regulations provided in this article are hereby declared to be governmental and for the health, safety and welfare of the general public. Any member of the city council or any city officials or employee charged with the enforcement of this article, acting for the City of Panhandle in the discharge of his or her duties, shall not thereby render himself or herself personally liable; and he or she is hereby relieved from all personal liability for any damage that might accrue to persons or property as a result of any act required or permitted in the discharge of his or her said duties.
(1993 Code of Ordinances, Appendix 4)