All papers, correspondence, memoranda, accounts, reports, maps, plans, photographs, sound and video recordings, files, microform, magnetic or paper tape, punched cards, or other documents, regardless of physical form or characteristic, which have been or shall be created, received, filed or recorded by any city office or department or its lawful successor, or officials thereof, in pursuance of law or ordinance or in the conduct, transaction, or performance of any business, duty, or function of public business, whether or not confidential or restricted in use, are hereby declared to be 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. Library and museum materials acquired solely for reference, exhibit, or display and stocks of publications shall not constitute records for purposes of this article.
(Ordinance 9009, sec. 1, adopted 6/12/90)
All city records as defined in section 1.07.001 of this article are hereby declared to be property of the city. 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.
(Ordinance 9009, sec. 2, adopted 6/12/90)
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.
(Ordinance 9009, sec. 3, adopted 6/12/90)
The city council shall appoint a city records manager, who shall administer the records management department and shall be responsible for city-wide files management and the direction and control of the city’s records disposition program. The records manager shall report to and be responsible to the city manager in the same manner as other departments.
(Ordinance 9009, sec. 5, adopted 6/12/90)
The records manager shall have the following duties, and others as assigned; however, duties assigned shall be limited to records management activities:
(1) 
Plan, formulate, and prescribe basic files management and records disposition policies, systems, standards, and procedures.
(2) 
Prepare records retention and disposition schedules in cooperation with department heads for all city offices and departments, define and identify vital and permanent records, and establish retention periods for all records. Retention periods shall be no shorter than desired by the originating office, but shall be as long as deemed necessary by either the records manager, the city attorney, or the city finance officer.
(3) 
Review schedules annually and update or amend as needed.
(4) 
Coordinate the city-wide files management and records disposition programs and report annually to the city manager on program effectiveness in each city department.
(5) 
Provide records management advice and assistance to all city offices and departments, by preparation of manuals of procedures and policies and by on-site consultation.
(6) 
Develop, disseminate, and coordinate files maintenance and records disposition procedures, including but not limited to those prescribed by this article, to meet the current and long-term information needs of the city.
(7) 
Train departmental records officers and other personnel in the fundamentals of records management and their duties in the records management program.
(8) 
Carry out at the proper time actions such as microphotography, destruction, and transfers that are required by records schedules.
(9) 
Design and manage the operations of a records center for the low-cost storage of inactive records and as a facility for a centralized micrographics program.
(10) 
Establish and monitor compliance with standards for filing and storage equipment and supplies in all city offices and departments, and report to the city manager failure of any officer or department to comply with standards. Keep careful records of savings in equipment, supplies, and staff costs realized by each department of the city through implementation of the records management program. Report annually such cost savings to the city manager; the report shall include the amount of storage space and equipment released for other uses.
(11) 
Develop a city-wide forms design and control system.
(12) 
Establish in cooperation with other responsible city officials a disaster plan for each city office and department to insure maximum availability of records for re-establishing operations quickly and with minimum disruption and expense.
(13) 
Develop procedures to insure the permanent preservation of the historically valuable records of the city.
(14) 
Protect privacy and assure availability of public information from records stored in the records center; bring to the attention of the city manager any office not in compliance with laws or ordinances regarding public access to information or protection of privacy.
(15) 
Prepare and submit annually to the city manager the budget requirements of the records management department to enable it to fulfill the records management goals of the city.
(Ordinance 9009, sec. 6, adopted 6/12/90)
All city office and department heads are responsible for the implementation and operation of effective files operations, records transfers and disposition, and other activities in accordance with the provisions of this article within their areas of responsibility. They shall designate records officers within their offices and provide the records manager the names of such designees and of all file stations and files custodians under their supervision. Persons designated as records officers shall report directly to the head of their department on matters relating to the records management program and should have full access to all files in their department.
(Ordinance 9009, sec. 7, adopted 6/12/90)
The records officer in each office and department is responsible for providing coordination between the records manager and personnel in his or her office to ensure that provisions of this article are complied with. This responsibility shall include overseeing the application of records schedules within the office or department.
(Ordinance 9009, sec. 8, adopted 6/12/90)
All city offices and departments shall adopt records retention and disposition schedules and destroy, transfer, or otherwise dispose of records only according to such schedules.
(Ordinance 9009, sec. 9, adopted 6/12/90)
(a) 
The records manager, in cooperation with department heads and records 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 manager 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 finance officer, who shall notify the records manager within 10 working days of his approval or of any objection to a retention period. At the expiration of the ten-day period, if no objection has been submitted, the records schedule shall be adopted and shall have full force as sufficient authorization for records destruction or other action. If objection is made, the records manager shall determine a retention period satisfactory to the office or department concerned, to the city attorney, and to the city finance officer.
(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 manager shall submit the records control schedules to the director and librarian.
(Ordinance 9017 adopted 12/11/90)
(a) 
A records control schedule for a department that has been approved and adopted shall be implemented by department heads and records officers 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 manager that the record be retained for an additional period.
(c) 
Prior to the destruction of a record under an approved records control schedule, authorization of the destruction must be obtained by the records manager from the department head, the city attorney, and the city finance officer.
(Ordinance 9017 adopted 12/11/90)
Prior to adoption of records schedules for an office, one-time destruction of accumulated obsolete records of that office may be made by or under the supervision of the records manager. Prior to such destruction, the records manager shall submit lists of records to be destroyed to the city finance officer and the city attorney, who shall give notice within 10 working days of any records they believe should not be destroyed, and such records shall be retained for a period suggested by either. The records manager shall also submit notice as required by law to the state librarian. Obsolete records shall include those no longer created by the office or department and no longer needed for administrative, legal, fiscal, or other research purposes.
(Ordinance 9009, sec. 11, adopted 6/12/90)
The records center operation shall utilize one or more buildings to store inactive records; to insure the security of such records from deterioration, theft, or damage during the period of storage; to permit fast, efficient retrieval of information from stored records; and to provide facilities for a centralized micrographics program.
(Ordinance 9009, sec. 12, adopted 6/12/90)
The records manager shall develop procedures to insure the permanent preservation of the historically valuable records of the city. The records manager shall provide housing under archival conditions for such records in the records center or in another municipal facility and in such manner that the records, unless their use is restricted by law or regulation, are open to the public for research purposes. If city-owned facilities are not available, the records manager shall arrange for the transfer of the records to the state library for perpetual care and preservation in one of its nearby regional historical resource depositories, or shall make other arrangements for their permanent preservation not contrary to law or regulation. In no circumstances shall the permanent records of the city be transferred to private individuals, to private historical societies or museums, or to private colleges or universities.
(Ordinance 9009, sec. 13, adopted 6/12/90)
Records no longer required in the conduct of current business by any office of the city shall be promptly transferred to the records center or archives or the state library, or be destroyed, at the time such action is designated on an approved records schedule. Such records shall not be maintained in current office files or equipment.
(Ordinance 9009, sec. 14, adopted 6/12/90)
A centralized micrographics program shall be designed and implemented by the records manager to serve all city offices and departments. No office or department shall operate a separate micrographics program, and no city funds may be expended to film, or to contract with a service company to film, any city records, except through the records management department.
(Ordinance 9009, sec. 15, adopted 6/12/90)
The records manager shall determine how long the various records of the city could be stored before the cost of storage during their retention periods would exceed the cost of preserving them in microform. In making this determination the records manager shall compare long-term lease of low-cost storage facilities, in addition to or in place of any records storage building operated by the city, with the cost of microphotography. In calculating comparative costs, the records manager shall consider document preparation and refiling time of staff, and other indirect costs of micrographics, as well as the cost of separate archival storage for master negatives of microform. Records determined to be more economically stored on microform shall be microphotographed and, in addition, the records manager shall include the following types of records in the micrographics program:
(1) 
Those which the records manager determines are of historical value and whose preservation is best insured by microphotographing the records on archival quality film.
(2) 
Those which because of the nature of the information they contain are indispensable to the continued operations of an office and therefore should be microphotographed to provide a security copy.
(3) 
Those which because of high volume use require frequent and/or large numbers of copies to be made which could be made most efficiently or economically through microfilm.
(Ordinance 9009, sec. 16, adopted 6/12/90)
Microfilm used for archival or security purposes as outlined in section 1.07.017 must meet the technical standards for quality, density, resolution, and definition of the state library and archives commission as required by law. The master negatives of such film shall not be used for making use copies and shall be stored off-site under environmental and security standards. Microform records must be indexed. The records manager or an authorized deputy shall check and certify that a microform record is a true and accurate duplication of the original record and shall cause to be included as part of the microform record certification images to that effect.
(Ordinance 9017 adopted 12/11/90)