1990-197
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RepealedbyOrdinanceNo.19286112/03/19
3001L
ORDINANCE NO. 90 -W
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF DENTON, TEXAS,
ESTABLISHING AUTHORITY FOR AN ACTIVE AND CONTINUING RECORDS
MANAGEMENT PROGRAM TO BE ADMINISTERED BY THE RECORDS MANAGEMENT
OFFICER IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE LOCAL GOVERN-
MENT RECORDS ACT; PROVIDING FOR A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE; AND PRO-
VIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
WHEREAS, Title 6, Subtitle C, of the Local Government Code
(Local Government Records Act) provides that a municipal
government must establish by ordinance an active and continuing
records management program to be administered by a Records
Management Officer; and
WHEREAS, the City of Denton desires to adopt an ordinance for
that purpose and to prescribe policies and procedures consistent
with the Local Government Records Act in the interest of
cost-effective and efficient recordkeeping; NOW, THEREFORE,
THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF DENTON HEREBY ORDAINS:
SECTION I. That the City Council adopts the Records
Management Po icy, a copy of which is attached hereto and
incorporated by reference herein.
SECTION II. That any employee of the City of Denton, Texas
who willfully or intentionally violates any of the requirements of
this ordinance shall be subject to disciplinary action, in
addition to any sanction prescribed by State law.
SECTION III. That if any section or part of any section,
paragraph or clause of this ordinance is declared invalid or
unconstitutional for any reason, such declaration shall not be
held to invalidate or impair the validity, force or effect of any
other section or sections, parts of sections, paragraphs or clauses
of this Ordinance.
SECTION IV. That this ordinance shall become effective on
January 1991.
PASSED AND APPROVED this the day of 1Ld~L'firit 1990.
BOB CASTLEBERRY, MAYOR/
1
RECORDS MANAGEMENT POLICY FOR THE CITY OF DENTON, TEXAS
The City of Denton desires to maintain a records management
program consistent with the requirements of state law, to provide
for efficient, economical, and effective controls over the crea-
tion, distribution, organization, maintenance, use, and disposi-
tion of all municipal government records 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 Texas Local Government Records Act and accepted
records management practice.
I. Definitions.
A. "Commission" means the Texas State Library and Archives
Commission.
B. "Department Director" means the officer who by ordinance,
order, or administrative policy is in charge of an office
of the City of Denton that creates or receives records.
C. "Director and Librarian" means the executive and admini-
strative officer of the Texas State Library and Archives
Commission.
D. "Essential Record" means any record of the City of Denton
necessary to resumption or continuation of operations of
the City of Denton in an emergency or disaster, to the
recreation of the legal and financial status of the City
of Denton, or to the protection and fulfillment of
obligations to the people of the city.
E. "Local Government Records Act" means Tex. Loc. Gov't Code
§201.001 et seg. (Vernon Supp. 1991), as same may be
amended from time to time.
F. "Municipal Records" means all documents, papers, letters,
books, maps, photographs, sound or video recordings, mi-
crofilm, magnetic tape, electronic media, or other infor-
mation recording media, regardless of physical form or
characteristic and regardless of whether public access to
it is open or restricted under the laws of the State,
created or received by the City of Denton or any of its
officers or employees pursuant to law or in the transac-
tion of public business. This term does not include:
1. extra identical copies of documents created only for
convenience of reference or research by officers or
employees of the City of Denton;
2. notes, journals, diaries, and similar documents
created by an officer or employee of the City of
Denton for the officer's or employee's personal
convenience;
3. blank forms;
4. stocks of publications;
5. library and museum materials acquired solely for the
purposes of reference or display; or
6. copies of documents in any media furnished to members
of the public to which they are entitled under
Chapter 424, Acts of the 63rd Legislature, Regular
Session, 1973 (Article 6252-17a, Vernon's Texas Civil
Statutes), or other state law.
G. "Permanent Record" means any record of the City of Denton
for which the retention period on a records control
schedule is given as permanent.
H. "Records Control Schedule" means a document prepared by
or under the authority of the Records Management Officer
listing the records maintained by the City of Denton,
their retention periods, and other records disposition
information that the records management program may
require.
I. "Records Liaison Officers" mean the persons designated
under Section VIII of this policy.
J. "Records Management" means the application of management
techniques to the creation, use, maintenance, retention,
preservation, and disposal of records for the purposes of
reducing the costs and improving the efficiency of
recordkeeping. The term includes the development of
records control schedules, the management of filing and
information retrieval systems, the protection of
essential and permanent records, the economical and
space-effective storage of inactive records, control over
the creation and distribution of forms, reports, and
correspondence, and the management of micrographics and
electronic and other records storage systems.
K. "Records Management Committee" means the committee
established in Section V of this policy.
L. "Records Management Officer" means the person designated
in Section III of this policy.
PAGE 2
M. "Records Management Plan" means the plan developed under
Section VI of this policy.
N. "Retention Period" means the minimum time that must pass
after the creation, recording, or receipt of a record,
or fulfillment of certain actions associated with a
record, before it is eligible for destruction.
II. Municipal Government Records Declared Public Property.
All municipal records as defined in Section I of this policy are
hereby declared to be the property of the City of Denton. No
municipal 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.
III. Designation of Records Management Officer. The City
Secretary, and the successive holders of said office, shall serve
as Records Management Officer for the City of Denton. As
provided by state law, each successive holder of the office shall
file his or her name with the director and librarian of the Texas
State Library within thirty days of the initial designation or of
taking up the office, as applicable.
IV. Duties of Records Management Officer. In addition to
other duties assigned in this policy, the Records Management
Officer shall:
A. Administer the records management program and provide
assistance to city departments in its implementation;
B. Plan, formulate, and prescribe records disposition
policies, systems, standards, and procedures;
C. In cooperation with department directors, identify
essential records and establish a disaster plan for each
municipal office and department to ensure maximum
availability of the records in order to re-establish
operation quickly and with minimum disruption and
expense;
D. Develop procedures to ensure the permanent preservation
of the historically valuable records of the City;
E. Establish standards for filing and storage equipment and
for recordkeeping supplies;
F. Study the feasibility of and, if appropriate, establish
a uniform filing system and a forms design and control
system for the City of Denton;
PAGE 3
G. Provide records management advice and assistance to all
municipal departments by preparation of a manual or
manuals of procedure and policy, and by on-site
consultation;
H. Monitor records retention schedules and administrative
rules issued by the Texas State Library and Archives
Commission to determine if the records management
program and the City's records control schedules are in
compliance with state regulations;
I. Disseminate to the City Council and department directors
information concerning state laws and administrative
rules relating to local government records;
J. Instruct Records Liaison Officers and other personnel in
policies and procedures of the records management plan
and their duties in this records management policy;
K. Direct Records Liaison Officers or other personnel in
the conduct of records inventories in preparation for
the development of records control schedules as required
by state law and this policy;
L. Ensure that the maintenance, preservation, microfilming,
destruction, or other disposition of the municipal
government is carried out in accordance with the
policies and procedures of the records management
program and the requirements of state law;
M. Maintain records on the volume of records destroyed
under approved records control schedules, the volume of
records microfilmed or stored electronically, and the
estimated cost and space savings as the result of such
disposal or disposition;
N. Report annually to the city Council on the
implementation of the records management plan in each
department of the City of Denton, including summaries of
the statistical and fiscal data compiled under
Subsection M hereof; and
0. Bring to the attention of the City Council
non-compliance by department directors or other
municipal personnel with the policies and procedures of
the records management program of the Local Government
Records Act.
V. Duties of Records Management Committee; A Records
Management Committee consisting of the following persons,
PAGE 4
or their designated re resentatives, is hereby estab-
lished: City Secretary Records Management Officer, City
Attorney, Library Director, Executive Director for
Finance, Executive Director for Utilities, Executive
Director for Municipal Services/Economic Development,
Executive Director for Planning, Police Chief, and Fire
Chief. The committee shall:
A. Assist the Records Management Officer in the development
of policies and procedures governing the records
management program;
B. Review the performance of the program on a regular basis
and propose changes and improvements if needed;
C. Review and approve records control schedules submitted
by the Records Management Officer;
D. Give final approval to the destruction of records in
accordance with approved records control schedules; and
E. Actively support and promote the records management
program throughout the City of Denton.
VI. Records Management Plan to be developed; Approval of Plan;
Authority of Plan.
A. The Records Management Officer and the Records
Management Committee shall develop a records management
plan for the City of Denton for submission to the City
Council. The plan must contain policies and procedures
designed to reduce the costs and improve the efficiency
of recordkeeping, to adequately protect the essential
records of the municipality, and to properly preserve
those records of the municipality that are of historical
value. The plan shall be designed to enable the Records
Management Officer to effectively carry out duties
prescribed by state law and this policy.
B. Once approved by the City Council, the records
management plan shall be binding on all offices,
departments, division, programs, commissions, bureaus,
boards, committees, or similar entities of the City of
Denton and records shall be created, maintained, stored,
microfilmed, and disposed of in accordance with that
plan.
C. State law relating to the duties, other responsibilities
or recordkeeping requirements of a department director
do not exempt the department director or the records in
PAGE 5
the department director's care from the application of
this policy and the records management plan adopted
under it and may not be used by the department director
as a basis for refusal to participate in the records
management program of the City of Denton.
VII. Duties and Responsibilities of Department Directors. In
addition to other duties assigned in this policy, department
directors shall:
A. Cooperate with the Records Management Officer in
carrying out the policies and procedures established in
the City of Denton for the efficient and economical
management of records and in carrying out the
requirements of this policy;
B. Adequately document the transaction of government
business and the services, programs, and duties for
which the department director and his or her staff are
responsible; and
C. Maintain the records in his or her care and carry out
their preservation, microfilming, destruction, or other
disposition only in accordance with the policies and
procedures of the records management program of the City
of Denton and the requirements of this policy.
VIII. Designation of Records Liaison Officers. Each
department director shall designate a member of his or her staff
to serve as Records Liaison Officer for the implementation of the
records management program in the department. If the Records
Management Officer determines that in the best interests of the
records management program more than one Records Liaison Officer
should be designated for a department, the department director
shall designate the number of Records Liaison Officers specified
by the Records Management Officer. Persons designated as Records
Liaison Officers shall be thoroughly familiar with all the
records created and maintained by the department and shall have
full access to all records of the City of Denton maintained by
the department. In the event of the resignation, retirement,
dismissal, or removal by action of the department director of a
person designated as a Records Liaison Officer, the department
director shall promptly designate another person to fill the
vacancy. A department director may serve as Records Liaison
Officer for his or her department.
IX. Duties and Responsibilities of Records Liaison Officers.
In addition to other duties assigned in this policy, Records
Liaison Officers shall:
PAGE 6
A. Conduct or supervise the conduct of inventories of the
records of the department in preparation for the
development of records control schedules;
B. In cooperation with the Records Management Officer,
coordinate and implement the policies and procedures of
the records management program in their departments; and
C. Disseminate information to department staff concerning
the records management program.
X. Records Control Schedules to be Developed; Approval; Filing
with State.
A. The Records Management Officer, in cooperation with
department director and Records Liaison 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
municipal records as the records management plan may
require.
B. Each records control schedule shall be monitored and
amended as needed by the Records Management Officer 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 of Denton.
C. Before its adoption, a records control schedule or
amended schedule for a department must be reviewed and
approved by the department director and forwarded for
review and approval by the members of the Records
Management Committee. The recommendation of the Records
Management Committee will then be forwarded for final
approval by the City Attorney, the Executive Director
for Finance, and the Records Management Officer.
D. Before its adoption, a records control schedule must be
submitted to and accepted for filing by the defined
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 Management Officer shall submit the records
control schedules to the director and librarian.
PAGE 7
XI. Implementation of Records Control Schedules; Destruction of
Records Under Schedule.
A. A records control schedule for a department that has
been approved and adopted under Section X shall be
implemented by Department Directors and Records Liaison
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 director requests in writing to the
Records Management Committee that the record be retained
for an additional period.
C. Prior to the destruction of a record under an approved
records control schedule, authorization for the
destruction must be obtained by the Records Management
Officer from the Records Management Committee.
XII. Destruction of Unscheduled Records. A record that has
not yet been listed on an approved records control schedule may
be destroyed if its destruction has been approved in the same
manner as a record destroyed under an approved schedule, and the
Records Management Officer has submitted to and received back
from the director and librarian an approved destruction
authorization request.
XIII. Records Center. A records center, developed pursuant to
the plan required by Section VI, shall be under the direct
control and supervision of the Records Management Officer.
Policies and procedures regulating the operations and use of the
records center shall be contained in the records management plan
developed under Section VI.
XIV. Micrographics. Unless a micrographics program in a
department is specifically exempted by order of the City Council,
all microfilming of records will be centralized and under the
direct supervision of the Records Management Officer. The
records management plan will establish policies and procedures
for the microfilming of municipal records, including policies to
ensure that all microfilming is done in accordance with standards
and procedures for the microfilming of local government records
established in rules of the Texas State Library and Archives
Commission. The plan will also establish criteria for
determining the eligibility of records for microfilming, and
protocols for ensuring that a microfilming program that is
exempted from the centralized operations is, nevertheless,
PAGE 8
subject to periodic review by the records management officer as
to cost-effectiveness, administrative efficiency, and compliance
with Texas State Library and Archives Commission rules.
XV. Electronic Storage of Records. The records management
plan will establish policies and procedures for the electronic
storage of municipal records, including policies to ensure that
all electronic storage of the City's records is done in
accordance with standards and procedures for the electronic
storage of local government records established under the Local
Government Records Act and of the Texas State Library and
Archives Commission. All electronic storage of the City's
records will be identified to the records management officer and
subject to review by the records management officer for
compliance with the established policies and procedures.
PAGE 9