OR 94-660 Records Management Program AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF COPPELL, TEXAS
ORDINANCE NO. 94660
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF COPPELL, TEXAS,
AMENDING ARTICLE 1-9 OF THE CODE OF ORDINANCES OF THE
CITY OF COPPELL BY AMENDING THE RECORDS MANAGEMENT
PROGRAM; ESTABLISHING REGULATIONS PERTAINING TO THE
PRESERVATION, PROTECTION, STORAGE, USE AND DISPOSITION OF
CITY RECORDS; PROVIDING A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE; PROVIDING
A REPEALING CLAUSE; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF COPPELL,
TEXAS:
SECTION 1.
That the Code of Ordinances of the City of Coppell, Texas, De and the same is
hereby amended by amending Article 1-9 in part to read as follows:
"Article 1-9
Records Management Program
Sec. 1-9-1 POLICY
It is hereby declared to be the policy of the City of Coppell to provide
for efficient, economical, and effective control 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.
Sec. 1-9-2 DEFINITION OF CITY RECORDS
The term "local government record" means any 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 the laws of the
state, created or received by a local government or any of its officers
or employees pursuant to law, including an ordinance, or in the
transaction of public business. The term does not include:
1. extra identical copies of documents created only for
convenience of reference or research by officers and employees
of the local government;
2. notes, journals, diaries, and similar documents created by an
officer or employee of the local government 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 (Chapter 552 Texas
Government Code), or other state law.
Sec. 1-9-3 OWNERSHIP AND CUSTODY OF CITY RECORDS
A. Every city record is the property of the city. No city officer or
employee has, by virtue of their 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 may not be sold, loaned, given away, destroyed,
or otherwise alienated from the city's custody unless in
accordance with the records control schedule and the provisions
of this article 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
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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 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. All city records must be created, maintained, and disposed of
in accordance with this article and all policies and procedures
established pursuant to this article, and in no other manner.
Sec. 1-9-4 DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF CITY COUNCIL
The City Council shall:
1. establish, promote, and support an active and continuing
program for the efficient and economical management of all
city records;
2. cause policies and procedures to be developed for the
administration of the program under the direction of the
records management officer;
3. facilitate the creation and maintenance of city records
containing adequate and proper documentation of the
organization, functions, policies, decisions, procedures, and
essential transactions of the city and designed to furnish the
information necessary to protect the legal and financial rights
of the city, the state, and persons affected by the activities of
the City;
4. facilitate the identification and preservation of city records that
are of permanent value;
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5. facilitate the identification and protection of essential records;
6. cooperate with the Texas State Library and Archives
Commission in its conduct of statewide records management
surveys.
Sec. 1-9-5 RECORDS MANAGEMENT OFFICER
There is hereby created a records management division in the office
of the City Secretary for the purpose of administering an active and
continuing city-wide records management program. The records
management division will be headed by City Secretary assisted by the
records coordinator who shall work under the direction of the City
Secretary, who shall serve as the city's records management officer. In
the absence of the City Secretary, the Assistant or Acting City
Secretary shall serve as the records management officer.
Sec. 1-9-6 DUTIES OF RECORDS MANAGEMENT OFFICER
The Records Management Officer shall:
i. assist in establishing and developing policies and procedures for
a records management program for the city;
2. administer the city's record management program and provide
advice and assistance to department directors in its
implementation;
3. in cooperation with the department directors, prepare and file
with the director and librarian of the Texas State Library
records control schedules and amended schedules;
4. in cooperation with department directors, identify essential
records and establish a records disaster and recovery plan for
each department to ensure maximum availability of the records
in order to re-establish operations quickly and with minimum
disruption and expense;
5. monitor the 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;
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6. disseminate to the City Council, the City Manager, the
department directors, and other personnel information
concerning state laws and administrative rules and the policies
of the City relating to city records;
7. instruct records officers and other personnel in policies and
procedures of the records management plan and their duties in
the records management program;
8. direct records 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
article;
9. ensure that the maintenance, preservation, microfilming,
electronic storage, destruction, and other disposition of city
records is carried out in accordance with the policies and
procedures of the records management program and the
requirements of this article and state law;
10. submit requests for authorization to destroy records not on an
approved control schedule or to destroy originals of permanent
records that have been microfilmed, and submit electronic
storage requests for city records to the director and librarian of
the Texas State Library as required by state law;
11. in cooperation with department directors, identify and take
adequate steps to preserve permanent records of the City and
to protect essential City records;
12. conduct annual review of records control schedules to ensure
that the schedules are kept current;
13. provide uniform standards and efficient controls over the
identification, appraisal, maintenance, protection, preservation,
transfer, retention, and disposition of city records; and
14. submit to department directors lists of records to be destroyed,
microfilmed or electronically stored.
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Sec. 1-9-7 DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF CITY DEPARTMENT
DIRECTORS
A. All City offices and Department Directors are responsible for
the implementation and operations, records transfers and
dispositions, and other activities in accordance with the
provisions of this article within their areas of responsibility.
They shall designate records officers (or technicians or clerks)
within their offices and provide the records management officer
the names of such designees and of all file stations and files
custodians under their supervision. Persons designated as
records officer (or technicians or clerks) shall report directly to
the director of their department on matters relating to the
records management program and should have full access to all
files in their departments.
B. All City officers and Department Directors shall cooperate with
the records management officer in carrying out the policies and
procedures established in the city for the efficient and
economical management of city records and in carrying out the
requirements of this chapter. They shall maintain city records
in the department director's custody and carry out the
preservation, microfilming, electronic storage, destruction, and
other disposition of those records only in accordance with the
policies and procedures of the records management program of
the city and the requirements of this article. They shall review
records control schedules and requests to dispose of city records
that are prepared and submitted by the records management
officer.
Sec. 1-9-8 DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF RECORDS OFFICERS
The records officer (or technician or clerk) in each office and
department is responsible for providing coordination between the
records management officer and the office or department to ensure
compliance with this article. They shall, in cooperation with the
records management officer, coordinate and implement the policies
and procedures of the records management program in their
department. They shall disseminate information to department staff
concerning the records management program.
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Sec. 1-9-9 RECORDS MANAGEMENT PLAN
A. The records management officer shall develop a city-wide
records management plan. The plan must be designed to
enable the records management officer to carry out duties as
prescribed by state law and this article. The records
management plan must contain policies and procedures
designed to (1) reduce the costs and improve the efficiency of
recordkeeping; (2) adequately protect the essential records of
the city; and (3) properly preserve city records that are of
historical value.
B. The records management plan shall be binding on city officers,
employees, departments, offices, agencies, divisions, programs,
commissions, boards, committees, task forces, ad hoc
committees, and similar entities of the city. The records
management officer, in cooperation with department directors
and records officers, shall prepare records control schedules
that describe, and establish the retention periods for all city
records. The records control schedules must contain such other
information regarding the disposition of city records as the
records management plan may require. Every city record
identified on the records control schedules, or any amendment
to the schedules, or in any request for destruction of a record
must be specifically described. Each records control schedule
must be monitored and amended as needed by the records
management officer on a regular basis to ensure that the
schedule is in compliance with records retention schedules
issued by the state and that the schedule continues to reflect the
recordkeeping procedures and needs of the department and the
records management program of the city.
C. Before its approval by the records management officer, the
records control schedules or amended schedules must be
reviewed by department directors and the City Manager. After
approval, the records control schedules must be filed by the
records management officer with the director and librarian of
the Texas State Library and Archives Commission, as provided
by state law, before the schedule may be implemented. If a
schedule is not accepted for filing, the schedule must be
amended and re-submitted to the director and librarian of the
Texas State Library and Archives Commission for approval.
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Sec. 1-9-10 DESTRUCTION OF OBSOLETE OR UNSCHEDULED RECORDS
A city record that is obsolete or that has not been identified on an
approved records control schedule may be destroyed by the records
management officer if: (1) its destruction has been approved in the
same manner required by this article for the destruction of a record
that is identified on an appruved records retention and disposition
schedule; and (2) the records management officer has submitted to and
received from the director and librarian of the Texas State Library and
Archives Commission an approved request for destruction
authorization.
Sec. 1-9-11 RECORDS CENTER; NON-CURRENT RECORDS
A. 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 control schedule. Such records shall not be maintained
in current office files or equipment.
B. The Records Center shall serve as a centralized records storage
facility for noncurrent and inactive city records under the
control and direction of the records management officer. The
Records Center operation shall utilize one or more storage
areas or buildings to store inactive records; to insure the
security of such records from deterioration, theft, or damage
during the period of storage; and to permit fast, efficient
retrieval of information from stored records.
Sec. 1-9-12 MICROFILMING CITY RECORDS
A. The records management plan must establish policies and
procedures for microfilming city records, including policies to
ensure that all microfilming is done in accordance with state
law and the standards and procedures for the microfilming of
City records established in rules of the Texas State Library and
Archives Commission. The plan must also establish criteria for
determining the eligibility of records for microfilming.
B. The records management officer shall coordinate the
microfilming of city records. Microfilm programs are subject to
periodic review by the records management officer as to cost-
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effectiveness, administrative efficiency, and compliance with
Texas State Library and Archives Commission rules.
Sec. 1-9-13 ELECTRONIC STORAGE OF CITY RECORDS
The records management officer shall coordinate the electronic storage
of City records. The records management plan must establish policies
and procedures for the maintenance, preservation, and storage of the
electronic records of the city, including policies to ensure that all
electronic storage of city records is done in accordance with state law
and the standards and procedures for the electronic storage established
in rules of the Texas State Library and Archives Commission."
SECTION 2. That should any word, phrase, paragraph, section or portion of this
ordinance or of the Code of Ordinances, as amended hereby, be held to be void or
unconstitutional, the same shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of said
ordinance or of the Code of Ordinances, as amended hereby, which shall remain in full
force and effect.
SECTION 3. That all provisions of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Coppell,
Texas, in conflict with the provisions of this ordinance be, and the same are hereby,
repealed, and all other provisions not in conflict with the provisions of this ordinance shall
remain in full force and effect.
SECTION 4. That this ordinance shall become effective from and after its passage
as the law and charter in such cases provide.
DULY PASSED by the City Council of the City of Coppell, Texas, this the 9 '~'~
day of (,/./7~i~ , 1994.
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APPROVED:
RTON, MAYOR
ATTEST:
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
~='g~R ~. SMI~,SCITY ATrORNEY
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