(A) Definition of city records.
(1) All papers, correspondence, memoranda, accounts, reports, maps, plans, photographs, sound and video recordings, files, microform, magnetic or paper tape, punched card 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 of Pleasanton, 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.
(2) Library and museum materials acquired solely for reference, exhibit or display and stocks of publications shall not constitute records for purposes of this section.
(B) City records declared public property. All city records as defined in division (A) above are hereby declared to be property of the City of Pleasanton. No city official or employee has, by virtue of his or her position, any personal or property right to the records even though he or she may have developed or compiled them. The unauthorized destruction, removal from files or use of the records is prohibited.
(C) Policy. 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.
(D) Records management officer established. The City Manager shall appoint a city records manager, with the rank of a department head, who 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 department heads.
(E) Duties of records manager. The records manager shall have the following duties, and others as assigned by the City Manager; 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 records shall be no shorter than desired by the originating office, but shall be as long as deemed necessary by either the records manager, City Attorney or the City Finance Officer;
(3) Review record retention and disposition 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 section, 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 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;
(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 and report annually the 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 records center; bring to attention of city manager any office not in compliance with laws or ordinances regarding public access to information or protection of privacy; and
(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.
(F) Responsibilities of city department heads. All city office and department heads are responsible for the implementation and operation of effective filed operations, records transfers and dispositions, and other activities in accordance with the provisions of this section within their areas of responsibility. They shall designate records officers within their offices and provide the records manager the names of the 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.
(G) Responsibilities of records officers. 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 section are complied with. This responsibility shall include overseeing the application of records schedules within the office or department.
(H) City offices to use records schedules. All city offices and departments shall adopt records retention and disposition schedules and destroy, transfer or otherwise dispose of records only according to the schedules.
(I) Development of records retention and disposition schedules.
(1) Retention periods to be included in records schedules shall be submitted by the records manager to the city finance office and City Attorney, who shall notify the records manager within ten working days of his or her 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 finance officer and to the City Attorney.
(2) When a records retention and disposition schedule is adopted, it shall thenceforth constitute full authority to destroy, transfer or take other actions, and the City Council hereby directs that the action be taken by the records manager or under his or her supervision. The records manager shall notify the state librarian of intended destruction, as required by law, but no further notice to the City Council or other city office shall be required.
(3) Revision or retention periods shall be submitted for review to the City Attorney and City Finance Officer in the same manner as the original retention periods.
(J) One-time destruction of obsolete records. 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 the 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 ten working days of any records they believe should not be destroyed, and the 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.
(K) Records center. The records center operation shall utilize one or more buildings to store inactive records; to ensure the security of the records from deterioration, theft or damage during the period of storage; and to permit fast, efficient retrieval of information from stored records.
(L) Preservation of permanent records.
(1) The records manager shall develop procedures to ensure the permanent preservation of the historically valuable records of the city.
(2) The records manager shall provide housing under archival conditions for the 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.
(3) If city-owned facilities are not available, the records manager shall arrange for the transfer of the records to the Texas 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.
(4) 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.
(M) Non-current records not to be maintained in office files.
(1) 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.
(2) Those records shall not be maintained in current office files or equipment.
(1989 Code, Ch. 1, § 15)