(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)