Sec. 39C-1. Statement of policy.
Sec. 39C-2. City of Dallas records.
Sec. 39C-3. Definitions.
Sec. 39C-4. Designation of records management officer.
Sec. 39C-5. Ownership and custody of city records.
Sec. 39C-6. Records involved in public information requests, pending litigation, or pending audits.
Sec. 39C-7. Duties and responsibilities of the city council.
Sec. 39C-8. Establishment of the records management policy committee.
Sec. 39C-9. Duties and responsibilities of records management officer.
Sec. 39C-10. Records management program to be developed; approval of program; authority of program.
Sec. 39C-11. Duties and responsibilities of department directors.
Sec. 39C-12. Designation of records liaison officers.
Sec. 39C-13. Duties and responsibilities of records liaison officers.
Sec. 39C-14. Records retention and disposition schedules; approval; filing with the state.
Sec. 39C-15. Implementation of records retention and disposition schedules; destruction of city records under schedule.
Sec. 39C-16. Destruction of unscheduled records.
Sec. 39C-17. Dallas municipal archives and records center.
Sec. 39C-18. Microfilming city records.
Sec. 39C-19. Electronic storage of city records.
Sec. 39C-20. Right of recovery.
Sec. 39C-21. Penalty.
(a) The city of Dallas recognizes that the citizens of Dallas have a right to expect, and the city has an obligation to foster, efficient and cost-effective government and further recognizes the central importance of city records in the lives of its citizens. The city of Dallas has a responsibility to its citizens to manage, protect, preserve, and make available city records.
(b) It is the policy of the city of Dallas to provide for efficient, economical, and effective controls over the creation, distribution, organization, maintenance, use, retention, and disposition of all records of the city of Dallas. This policy will be implemented 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 Local Government Records Act, the Public Information Act, the city charter, and accepted records management practice. (Ord. Nos. 20787; 23267)
(1) APPROVED RECORDS RETENTION AND DISPOSITION SCHEDULE means a records retention and disposition schedule that has been:
(A) approved by the department director, the records management officer, and the records management policy committee;
(B) adopted by the city council by resolution; and
(C) filed by the records management officer and approved by the director and librarian of the Texas State Library and Archives Commission either:
(i) in a detailed format determined by the director and librarian; or
(ii) through a written certification of compliance filed in accordance with state law.
(2) CITY RECORD means 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 state law, that is created or received by the city of Dallas or any of its officers or employees pursuant to law or in the transaction of public business. A city record does not include library or museum material acquired solely for reference, exhibit, or display or stocks of publications, advertisements, or other unsolicited written materials received by the city or any of its officers or employees.
(3) DALLAS MUNICIPAL ARCHIVES AND RECORD CENTER (DMARC) means the facility described in Section 39C-17 of this chapter that is used to provide centralized and secure storage for noncurrent and permanent city records.
(4) DEPARTMENT means any department, office, agency, division, program, commission, bureau, board, committee, task force, ad hoc committee, or similar entity of the city.
(5) DEPARTMENT DIRECTOR means the officer who by ordinance, order, or administrative policy is in charge of a department or an office of the city that creates or receives city records.
(6) ESSENTIAL RECORD means any city record necessary to:
(A) the resumption or continuation of operations of the city in an emergency or disaster;
(B) the re-creation of the legal and financial status of the city; or
(C) the protection and fulfillment of obligations to the citizens of the city.
(7) LOCAL GOVERNMENT RECORDS ACT means Title 6, Subtitle C of the Local Government Code, as amended.
(8) PERMANENT RECORD means any city record for which the retention period on a records retention and disposition schedule is given as permanent.
(9) PUBLIC INFORMATION ACT means Chapter 552 of the Texas Government Code, also known as the Texas Open Records Act.
(10) RECORDS DISPOSITION means the removal of a city record from a department or from a noncurrent records storage center and:
(A) for a city record that has passed its minimum legal retention period and no longer has value to the city, the destruction of the record; or
(B) for a permanent city record, transfer of the record to DMARC for archival accession.
(11) RECORDS INVENTORY means the process of locating, identifying, and describing in detail the records of a department.
(12) RECORDS LIAISON OFFICER means any person designated under Section 39C-12 of this chapter.
(13) RECORDS MANAGEMENT means the planning, controlling, directing, organizing, training, promoting, and application of other management techniques involved in the creation, use, maintenance, retention, preservation, and disposal of city records for the purposes of achieving adequate and proper documentation of the policies and transactions of city government and reducing the costs and improving the efficiency of recordkeeping. The term includes:
(A) the development of records retention and disposition schedules;
(B) the management of filing and information retrieval systems;
(C) the protection of essential and permanent records;
(D) the economical and space-effective storage of noncurrent records;
(E) the control over the creation and distribution of forms, reports, and correspondence;
(F) the management of manual, micrographic, electronic, and other records storage systems; and
(G) the identification of functional recordkeeping requirements that ensure city records are created to adequately document the city’s business transactions.
(14) RECORDS MANAGEMENT OFFICER means the person appointed by the city secretary, in accordance with Chapter IIIA, Section 3 of the city charter, to fill the position designated by the city council, pursuant to the Local Government Records Act, to administer the city’s records management program.
(15) RECORDS MANAGEMENT PROGRAM means the requirements, policies, and procedures developed under Section 39C-10 of this chapter.
(16) RECORDS MANAGEMENT POLICY COMMITTEE means the committee established under Section 39C-8 of this chapter.
(17) RECORDS RETENTION AND DISPOSITION SCHEDULE means a document prepared by or under the authority of the records management officer that describes recurring records or records series on a continuing basis, indicating for each record or records series:
(A) the length of time the record or records series is to be maintained in a department or in DMARC;
(B) when and if the record or records series may be destroyed or otherwise disposed of; and
(C) other records disposition information that the records management program may require.
(18) RETENTION PERIOD means the minimum time that must pass after the creation, recording, or receipt of a city record, or after the fulfillment of certain actions associated with a city record, before the record is eligible for disposition. (Ord. Nos. 20787; 23267)
(a) The records management officer shall be appointed by the city secretary to implement and administer the city’s records management program in compliance with this chapter, the city charter, state law, and policies adopted by the records management policy committee. The records management officer must be a person professionally competent by experience and training to administer the records management program.
(b) Upon the records management officer’s resignation, retirement, dismissal, or removal by action, the officer’s successor shall, within 30 days after being appointed by the city secretary, file the successor’s name with the director and librarian of the Texas State Library and Archives Commission, as prescribed by state law. (Ord. Nos. 20787; 23267)
(a) Every city record is the property of the city. No city officer or employee has, by virtue of the position of the city officer or employee, any personal or property right to a city record even though the city officer or employee may have developed or compiled the record. The unauthorized alteration, destruction, deletion, removal from files, or use of a city record is prohibited. A city record exempted from public disclosure under state or federal law is not made subject to disclosure by its designation as city property under this section.
(b) A city record may not be sold, loaned, given away, destroyed, or otherwise alienated from the city’s custody unless in accordance with this chapter or unless destroyed as directed by an expunction order issued by a district court pursuant to state law. This subsection does not apply to a city record that is temporarily transferred to a contractor for purposes of microfilming, duplication, conversion to electronic media, restoration, or a similar records management and preservation procedure if the transfer is authorized by the records management officer.
(c) Except when a city record is transferred into the archival custody of DMARC as provided in Subsection (e), legal custody of a city record created or received by a department during the course of business remains with the department director or with the department director of any designated successor of the department. The legal custodian, as guardian of the record, does not relinquish responsibility for the care, preservation, or legal disposition of the record even though physical custody of the record for maintenance and preservation purposes may be held by another department or agency. The physical custodian of the record is also responsible for complying with all records management program requirements, policies, and procedures. An original city record may not leave the custody of the department concerned when being used by a member of the public.
(d) Every officer or employee shall deliver to any successor all city records pertaining to the office held by the city officer or employee.
(e) The legal and physical custody of a city record that has continuing historical value to the city may be transferred to DMARC upon agreement between the department director and the records management officer. DMARC’s custody of the record subsequently will be known as archival custody, and ownership of the record remains with the city.
(f) DMARC shall have legal and physical custody of all city records belonging to any defunct department that does not have a named successor.
(g) The records management policy committee shall review and determine, as necessary, custodial responsibilities for city-wide electronic applications. Custodial responsibility must be determined prior to systems design or implementation. (Ord. Nos. 20787; 23267)
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