(a)
Charges
shall be imposed and collected for the following readily available
information:
(1)
Standard-size copy.
The charge for standard-size (up to 8½ inch by 14 inch) paper copies reproduced by means of an office machine copier or computer printer is as provided in appendix A per page. Notwithstanding the provisions of this subsection, the cost for copies of the annual budget document in the city shall be as provided in appendix A.
(3)
Additional costs.
The charges in this subsection are
to cover the cost of materials onto which information is copied and
do not reflect any additional charges that may be associated with
a particular request.
(b)
The
charge for information that is not readily available shall be the
materials and personnel cost to the city plus an overhead charge of
20 percent of personnel costs to cover all direct and indirect costs,
plus any other charges allowed by law.
[Code 1984, ch. 1, § 23(B)]
(a)
In accordance
with V.T.C.A., Government Code § 552.275, the city council establishes
a limit of 36 hours as the amount of time that employees are required
to devote without charge to produce public information for inspection
or duplication, or providing copies of public information to any one
requestor. This limit shall apply to each 12-month period commencing
each October 1, effective with the date of adoption of the ordinance
from which this section derives.
(b)
Written
statement.
(1)
The
city secretary or the city secretary's designee shall provide the
requestor with a written statement of the amount of personnel time
spent complying with each request and the cumulative amount of time
spent complying with requests from that requestor during the applicable
12-month period. The time spent preparing the written statement of
total time spent may not be included.
(2)
When the time spent on responding to a particular requestor's requests equals or exceeds the time limit imposed by subsection (a), the city secretary or the city secretary's designee shall provide the requestor with a written estimate of the total cost, including materials, personnel time, and overhead expenses necessary to comply with the request. The estimate must be provided on or before the tenth day after the date on which the public information was requested. The amount of the cost shall be established by rules prescribed by the attorney general.
(3)
If the city secretary or the city secretary's designee determines that additional time is required to prepare the written estimate of costs required by subsection (b)(2) and provides the requestor with a written statement of that determination, the city secretary or the city secretary's designee must provide the written estimate of costs required by subsection (b)(2) as soon as practicable, but on or before the tenth day after the date the city provides the written statement that additional time is required.
(c)
After the city secretary or the city secretary's designee has provided the requestor with the written estimate of costs under subsection (b), the requestor may respond within ten days of receiving the estimate by submitting a written statement in which the requestor commits to pay the lesser of:
(1)
The
actual costs incurred in complying with the requestor's request, including
the cost of materials and personnel time and overhead; or
(2)
The
amount stated in the written statement provided.
|
If the requestor fails or refuses to submit the written statement
of commitment to pay, the requestor shall be considered to have withdrawn
the requestor's pending request for public information.
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(d)
Any
time spent complying with a request in the name of a minor is to be
included in the calculation of the cumulative amount of time spent
complying with a request for public information by a parent, guardian,
or other person who has control of the minor under a court order and
with whom the minor resides, unless that parent, guardian or other
person establishes that another person submitted that request in the
name of the minor.
(e)
Exceptions.
(1)
This
section does not apply if the requestor is an individual who, for
a substantial portion of the individual's livelihood or for substantial
financial gain, gathers, compiles, prepares, collects, photographs,
records, writes, edits, reports, investigates, processes, or publishes
news or information for and is seeking the information for:
a.
A
radio or television broadcast station that holds a license issued
by the Federal Communications Commission; or
b.
A
newspaper that is qualified under V.T.C.A., Government Code §
2051.044, to publish legal notices or is a free newspaper of general
circulation and that is published at least once a week and available
and of interest to the general public in connection with the dissemination
of news; or
c.
A
newspaper of general circulation that is published on the internet
by a news medium engaged in the business of disseminating news or
general information to the general public; or
d.
A
magazine that is published at least once a week or on the internet
by a news medium engaged in the business of disseminating news or
information to the general public.
(2)
This
section does not apply if the requestor is a representative of a publicly
funded legal services organization that is exempt from federal income
taxation under Section 501(a), Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended,
by being listed as an exempt entity under Section 501(c)(3) of that
code.
(3)
This
section does not apply if the requestor is an elected official of
the United States, this state, or a political subdivision of this
state.
[Ord. No. 1191-10, §§
1—5, 12-14-2010]
The following words, terms and phrases when used in this division,
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, order, or administrative
policy is in charge of an office of the city that creates or receives
records.
means any record of the city necessary to the resumption
or continuation of operations of the city in an emergency or disaster,
to the recreation of the legal and financial status of the city or
to the protection and fulfillment of obligations to the people of
the state.
means 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 a local government or any of its officers or employees pursuant
to law, including an ordinance, or in the transaction of public business.
The term does not include:
Extra identical copies of documents created only for convenience
of reference or research by officers or employees of local government;
Notes, journals, diaries, and similar documents created by an
officer or employee of the local government for the officer's or employee's
personal convenience;
Blank forms;
Stocks of publications;
Library and museum materials acquired solely for the purposes
of reference or display;
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
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 political 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.
means any record of the city for which the retention period
on a records control schedule is given as permanent.
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 persons designated under section 2-178.
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 2-175.
means the plan developed under section 2-182.
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.
[Code 1984, ch. 1, § 8(B)]
All documents, papers, letters, books, maps, photographs, sound
or video recordings, 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 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 section or procedures
authorized by it and in no other manner.
[Code 1984, ch. 1, § 8(A)]
All city records as described in section 2-172 are hereby declared to be the property of the city. No city 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.
[Code 1984, ch. 1, § 8(C)]
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, V.T.C.A., Local Government Code § 201.001 et seq.,
and accepted records management practice.
[Code 1984, ch. 1, § 8(D)]
The city secretary and the successive holders of such office,
shall serve as records management officers for the city. As provided
by state law, each successive holder of the office shall file his
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.
[Code 1984, ch. 1, § 8(E)]
In addition to other duties assigned in this division, the records
management officer shall:
(a)
Administer
the records management program and provide assistance to department
heads in its implementation;
(b)
Plan,
formulate and prescribe records disposition policies, systems, standards
and procedures;
(c)
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;
(d)
Develop
procedures to ensure the permanent preservation of the historically
valuable records of the city;
(e)
Establish
standards for filing and storage equipment and for recordkeeping supplies;
(f)
Study
the feasibility of and, if appropriate, establish a uniform filing
system and a forms design and control system for the city;
(g)
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;
(h)
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;
(i)
Disseminate
to the city council and department heads information concerning state
laws and administrative rules relating to local government records;
(j)
Instruct
records liaison officers and other personnel in policies and procedures
of the records management plan and their duties in the records management
program;
(k)
Redirect
records liaison officers or other personnel in the conduct of records
inventories in preparation for the development of records control
schedules as required by state law and this section;
(l)
Ensure
that the maintenance, preservation, microfilming, destruction, or
other disposition of city records is carried out in accordance with
the polices and procedures of the records management program and the
requirements of state law;
(m)
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;
(n)
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 13 of
this section; and
(o)
Bring
to the attention of the city council noncompliance by department heads
or other city personnel with the polices and procedures of the records
management program or the Local Government Records Act.
[Code 1984, ch. 1, § 8(H)]
In addition to other duties assigned in this section, department
heads shall:
(a)
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;
(b)
Adequately
document the transaction of government business and the services,
programs, and duties for which the department head and his staff are
responsible; and
(c)
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.
[Code 1984, ch. 1, § 8(I)]
Each department head shall designate a member of his 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 interests 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
of a person designated as a 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 department.
[Code 1984, ch. 1, § 8(J)]
In addition to other duties assigned in this section, records
liaison officers shall:
(a)
Conduct
or supervise the conduct of inventories of the records of the department
in preparation for the development of records control schedules;
(b)
In cooperation
with the records management officer coordinate and implement the policies
and procedures of the records management program in their departments;
and
(c)
Disseminate
information to department staff concerning the records management
program.
[Code 1984, ch. 1, § 8(K)]
(a)
The
records management officer, in cooperation with department heads and
records liaison officers, 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 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, the city attorney
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 of the state library and
archives commission 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 such 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 V.T.C.A., Local Government Code
§ 203.041 et seq.
[Code 1984, ch. 1, § 8(L)]
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.
[Code 1984, ch. 1, § 8(F)]
(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 or 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 section 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 and microfilmed only in accordance
with the provisions of such records management 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 section 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.
[Code 1984, ch. 1, § 8(G)]
(a)
A records control schedule for a department that has been approved and adopted under section 2-182, shall be implemented by department heads and records liaison officers according to the policies and procedures of the records management plan.
(b)
A record
whose retention period has expired on a record 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
committee 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 manager.
[Code 1984, ch. 1, § 8(M)]
A record that has not 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 of the state library and archives
commission an approved destruction authorization request.
[Code 1984, ch. 1, § 8(N)]
A records center, developed pursuant to the plan required by section 2-182, 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 2-182.
[Code 1984, ch. 1, § 8(O)]
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 polices
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 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.
[Code 1984, ch. 1, § 8(P)]
Nothing in this division should, is intended, or shall be construed
to create any liability of the city, its employees, officers or agents
to any third person as a result of acts or omissions relating to this
division.
[Code 1984, ch. 1, § 8(Q)]
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 official or employee
charged with the enforcement of this division, acting for the city
in the discharge of his duties, shall not thereby render himself personally
liable, and he 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 such duties.
[Code 1984, ch. 1, § 8(R)]
