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HomeMy Public PortalAboutOrdinance No. 628-90 12-10-1990• ORDINANCE NO. 628 AN ORDINANCE AMENDING THE CODE OF ORDINANCES OF THE CITY OF RICHLAND HILLS, TEXAS, BY THE REPEAL OF SECTION 8, "DESTROYING CITY RECORDS", OF CHAPTER 1, "GENERAL PROVISIONS" OF SAID CODE; AND BY THE ADDITION OF A NEW CHAPTER 13, "RECORDS MANAGEMENT" TO SAID CODE OF ORDINANCES; DEFINING CITY RECORDS; PROVIDING ADDITIONAL DEFINITIONS; DECLARING CITY RECORDS PUBLIC PROPERTY; DECLARING CITY POLICY CONCERNING CITY RECORDS; DESIGNATING AND SETTING THE DUTIES OF A RECORDS MANAGEMENT OFFICER; PROVIDING FOR DEVELOPMENT, APPROVAL AND IMPLEMENTATION OF A RECORDS MANAGEMENT PLAN; SETTING FORTH DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF DEPARTMENT HEADS; PROVIDING FOR DESIGNATION OF RECORDS LIAISON OFFICERS AND SETTING FORTH THEIR DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES; PROVIDING FOR DEVELOPMENT, APPROVAL, FILING AND IMPLEMENTATION OF RECORDS CONTROL SCHEDULES AND FOR DESTRUCTION OF RECORDS THEREUNDER; PROVIDING FOR DESTRUCTION OF UNSCHEDULED RECORDS; PROVIDING FOR • ESTABLISHMENT OF A RECORDS CENTER; PROVIDING FOR MICROGRAPHICS PROGRAMS; PROVIDING THAT NO LIABILITY SHALL ARISE DUE TO ACTS OR OMISSIONS RELATING TO THIS ORDINANCE; PROVIDING FOR GOVERNMENTAL IMMUNITY; PROVIDING THAT THIS ORDINANCE BE CUMULATIVE; PROVIDING A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. WHEREAS, Title 6, Subtitle C, Local Government Code (Local Government Records Act) provides that a City must establish by ordinance an active and continuing records management program to be administered by a Records Management Officer; and WHEREAS, the City of Richland Hills, Texas desires to adopt an ordinance for that purpose and to prescribe policies and procedures consistent with the Local Government Records Act and in the interests of cost—effective and efficient recordkeeping; NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF RICHLAND HILLS, TEXAS: I. That Section 8, "DESTROYING CITY RECORDS" of Chapter 1, "GENERAL . PROVISIONS" of the Code of Ordinances, City of Richland Hills, Texas, is hereby repealed in its entirety. ORDINANCE NO. 628 Page 1 That the Code of Ordinances, City of Richland Hills, Texas, be hereby amended by the addition thereto of a new Chapter 13, "RECORDS MANAGEMENT", which Chapter shall hereafter be and read as follows: SECTION 1. Definition of City Records. All documents, papers, letters, books, maps, photographs, sound or video recordings, microfilm, magnetic tape, electronic media, or other information 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 Richland Hills, Texas or any of its officers or employees pursuant to law or in the transaction of public business are hereby declared to be the records of the City of Richland Hills, Texas and shall be created, maintained, and disposed of in accordance with the provisions of this Ordinance or procedures authorized by it and in no other manner. SECTION 2. Additional Definitions. 1. Department head means the officer who by ordinance, order, or administrative policy is in charge of an office of the City of Richland Hills, Texas that creates or receives records. 2. Essential record means any record of the City of Richland Hills, Texas necessary to the resumption or continuation of operations of the City of • Richland Hills, Texas in an emergency or disaster, to the re—creation of the legal and financial status of the City of Richland Hills, Texas, or to the protection and fulfillment of obligations to the people of the state. 3. Permanent record means any record of the City of Richland Hills, Texas for which the retention period on a records control schedule is given as permanent. 4. 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 Richland Hills, Texas, their retention periods, and other records disposition information that the records management program may require. 5. 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. 6. Records liaison officers means the persons designated under Section 10 of . this Ordinance. ORDINANCE NO. 628 Page 2 • 7. Records management officer means the person designated in Section 5 of this Ordinance. 8. Records management elan means the plan developed under Section 7 of this Ordinance. 9. Retention period means the minimum time that must pass after the creation, recording, or receipt of a record, or the fulfillment of certain actions associated with a record, before it is eligible for destruction. SECTION 3. City Records Declared Public Property. All City records as defined in Section 1 of this Ordinance are hereby declared to be the property of the City of Richland Hills, Texas. No City 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. SECTION 4. Policy. It is hereby declared to be the policy of the City of Richland Hills, Texas 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, consistent with the requirements of the Texas Local Government Records Act and accepted records management practice. • SECTION S. Designation of Records Management Officer. The City Secretary, and the successive holders of said office, shall serve as Records Management Officer for the City. 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. • SECTION 6. City Manager Oversight of Records Management Program; Duties. The City Manager shall have final oversight responsibility for the records management program. In performing this function the City Manager 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 Richland Hills, Texas. ORDINANCE NO. 6 2 8 Page 3 SECTION 7. Records Management Plan to be Developed; Approval of Plan; Authority of Plan. (a) The Records Management Officer and the City Manager shall develop a records management plan for the City 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 City, and to properly preserve those records of the City that are of historical value. The plan must be designed to enable the Records Management Officer to carry out his or her duties prescribed by state law and this Ordinance effectively. (b) Once approved by the City Council the records management plan shall be binding on all offices, departments, divisions, programs, commissions, bureaus, boards, committees, or similar entities of the City of Richland Hills, Texas and records shall be created, maintained, stored and microfilmed only in accordance with the provisions of such records management plan. (c) State laws relating to the duties, other responsibilities, or recordkeeping requirements of a department head do not exempt the department head or the records in the department head's care from the application of this Ordinance and the records management plan adopted under it and may not be used by the department head as a basis for refusal to participate in the . records management program of the City of Richland Hills, Texas. SECTION 8. Duties of Records Management Officer. In addition to other duties assigned in this Ordinance, the Records Management Officer shall: 1. administer the records management program and provide assistance to department heads in its implementation; 2. plan, formulate, and prescribe records disposition policies, systems, standards, and procedures; 3. in cooperation with department heads identify essential records and establish a disaster plan for each City office and department to ensure maximum availability of the records in order to re—establish operations quickly and with minimum disruption and expense; 4. develop procedures to ensure the permanent preservation of the historically valuable records of the City; S. establish standards for filing and storage equipment and for recordkeeping supplies; 6. study the feasibility of and, if appropriate, establish a uniform filing system and a forms design and control system for the City; 7. provide records management advice and assistance to all City departments • by preparation of a manual or manuals of procedure and policy and by on —site consultation; ORDINANCE NO. 628 Page 4 • 8. 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; 9. disseminate to the City Council and department heads information concerning state laws and administrative rules relating to local government records; 10. instruct Records Liaison Officers and other personnel in policies and procedures of the records management plan and their duties in the records management program; 11. redirect 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 Ordinance; 12. ensure that the maintenance, preservation, microfilming, destruction, or other disposition of City records is carried out in accordance with the policies and procedures of the records management program and the requirements of state law; 13. 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; 14. report annually to the City Council on the implementation of the records management plan in each department of the City of Richland Hills, Texas, including summaries of the statistical and fiscal data compiled under Subsection 13; and 15. bring to the attention of the City Council non—compliance by department heads or other City personnel with the policies and procedures of the records management program or the Local Government Records Act. SECTION 9. Duties and Responsibilities of Department Heads. In addition to other duties assigned in this Ordinance, department heads shall: 1. cooperate with the Records Management Officer in carrying out the policies and procedures established in the City of Richland Hills, Texas for the efficient and economical management of records and in carrying out the requirements of this Ordinance; 2. adequately document the transaction of government business and the services, programs, and duties for which the department head and his or her staff are responsible; and 3. 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 Richland Hills, Texas and the requirements of this Ordinance. ORDINANCE NO. 628 Page 5 • SECTION 10. Designation of Records Liaison Officers. Each department head 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 head 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 Richland Hills, Texas maintained by the department. In the event of the resignation, retirement, dismissal, or removal of a person designated as a Records Liaison Officer, the department head shall promptly designate another person to fill the vacancy. A department head may serve as Records Liaison Officer for his or her department. SECTION 11. Duties and Responsibilities of Records Liaison Officers. In addition to other duties assigned in this Ordinance, Records Liaison Officers shall: (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. SECTION 12. Records Control Schedules to be Developed; Approval; Filing with State. • (a) The Records Management Officer, in cooperation with department heads 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 City 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 Richland Hills, Texas. (c) Before its adoption a records control schedule or amended schedule for a department must be approved by the department head, the City Attorney, and the City Manager. ORDINANCE NO. 628 Page 6 • (d) Before its adoption a records control schedule must be submitted to and accepted for filing by the director and librarian of the Texas State Library and Archives Commission 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 said director and librarian. (e) All records control schedules for the City must be filed and approved as provided in this Section no later than January 2, 1995, and shall also be prepared in accordance with Section 203.041, et seq., of the Texas Local Government Code, as amended. SECTION 13. 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 7 shall be implemented by department heads 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 head 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 City Manager. SECTION 14. Destruction of Unscheduled Records. A record that has not 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 of the Texas State Library and Archives Commission an approved destruction authorization request. SECTION 15. Records Center. A records center, developed pursuant to the plan required by Section 7, 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 7. SECTION 16. 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 City 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 ORDINANCE NO. 628 Page 7 • records for microfilming and protocols for ensuring that a microfilming program that is exempted from the centralized operations is, nevertheless, subject to periodic review by the Records Management Officer as to cost—effectiveness, administrative efficiency, and compliance with commission rules. SECTION 17. No Liability of City, its Employees, Officers or Agents. Nothing in this Ordinance should, is intended or shall be construed to create any liability of the City, its employees, officers or agents to any third person as a result of acts or omissions relating to this Ordinance. SECTION 18. Governmental Immunity. All of the regulations provided in this Ordinance are hereby declared to be governmental and for the health, safety and welfare of the general public. Any member of the City Council or any City official or employee charged with the enforcement of this Ordinance, acting for the City of Richland Hills in the discharge of his duties, shall not thereby render himself personally liable; and he is hereby relieved from all personal liability for any damage that might accrue to persons or property as a result of any act required or permitted in the discharge of his said duties. SECTION 19. Provisions Cumulative. This Ordinance shall be and is hereby declared to be cumulative of all other Ordinances of the City of Richland Hills, and this Ordinance shall not operate to repeal or affect any of such other Ordinances except insofar as the provisions thereof might be inconsistent or in conflict with the provisions of this Ordinance, in which event such conflicting provisions, if any, in • such other Ordinance or Ordinances are hereby repealed. III. n Severability Clause. That it is hereby declared to be the intention of the City Council that the sections, paragraphs, sentences, clauses and phrases of this ordinance are severable, and if any phrase, clause, sentence, paragraph or section of this ordinance shall be declared invalid or unconstitutional by the valid judgment or decree of any court of competent jurisdiction, such invalidity or unconstitutionality shall not affect any of the remaining phrases, clauses, sentences, paragraphs and sections of this ordinance, since the same would have been enacted by the City Council without the incorporation in this ordinance of any such invalid or unconstitutional phrase, clause, sentence, paragraph or section. 0I Effective Date. This ordinance shall be in full force and effect from and after its passage and publication as provided by the Richland Hills City Charter and the laws of the State of Texas. PRESENTED, GIVEN FIRST READING AND APPROVED at a regular meeting of the Richland Hills City Council on the l Oth day of Dec. 1990, by a vote of 4 ayes, 0 nays, and 0 abstentions. ORDINANCE NO. 6 2 8 Page 8 ATTEST: Pauline Kempe, City Sec etary APPROVED AS TO FORM: Paul F. Wieneskie, City Attorney 0 0201a/dd/120590 0 APPROVED: James k. Truitt, Mayor ORDINANCE NO. 6 2 8 Page 9