(a) Every city record is the property of the city. No city officer or employee has, by virtue of his or her position, 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, 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 shall not be sold, loaned, given away, destroyed or otherwise alienated from the city’s custody unless done in accordance with the provisions of this article or unless destroyed as directed by an expunction order issued by a district court pursuant to state law. This section 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) 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. 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) A city record that has continuing historical value to the city may be transferred to the municipal archive upon agreement between the department director, the records management officer and the municipal archivist. Custody of the record will be known subsequently as archival custody, and ownership of the record remains with the city.
(f) The city shall maintain legal and physical custody of all city records belonging to any defunct department that does not have a named successor.
(Ord. 12027, § 1, passed 7-11-1995; Ord. 15336, § 3, passed 11-19-2002)