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 are hereby declared to be the records
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.
(1990 Code, sec. 2-26)
The officer who, by ordinance or administrative policy, is
in charge of an office of the city that creates or receives records.
Any record of the city necessary to the resumption or continuation
of its operation 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.
Any record of the city for which the retention period on
a records control schedule is given as permanent.
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.
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.
The person designated in section 1.05.005 of this article.
The plan developed under section 1.05.008 of this article.
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.
(1990 Code, sec. 2-27)
All municipal records, as defined in section 1.05.001 of this article, 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.
(1990 Code, sec. 2-28)
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.
(1990 Code, sec. 2-29)
The city secretary, and the 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
thirty (30) days of the initial designation or of taking up the office,
as applicable.
(1990 Code, sec. 2-30)
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 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 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 municipality’s records control schedules
are in compliance with state regulations;
(8)
Disseminate
to the city 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 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 noncompliance by department heads
or other municipal personnel with the policies and procedures of the
records management program or the Local Government Records Act.
(1990 Code, sec. 2-31)
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.
(1990 Code, sec. 2-32)
(a)
The
records management officer shall develop a records management plan
for the city for submission to the city. 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 article effectively.
(b)
Once
approved by the city, 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.
(1990 Code, sec. 2-33)
(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 control 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.
(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.
(1990 Code, sec. 2-34)
(a)
A records control schedule for a department that has been approved and adopted under section 1.05.009 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 schedule,
authorization for the destruction must be obtained by the records
management officer from the city.
(1990 Code, sec. 2-35)
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.
(1990 Code, sec. 2-36)
