The city is a type A general law municipality and desirous of adopting and accepting the provisions of the Local Government Code of Texas applicable to type A general law municipalities. The provisions of the Local Government Code of Texas, insofar as its provisions are applicable to the city, are hereby adopted and accepted.
(1995 Code, sec. 1-1)
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 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 and shall be created, maintained, and disposed of in accordance with the provisions of this division or procedures authorized by it and in no other manner.
(Ordinance 91-1-3, sec. 1, adopted 1/3/91)
Department head.
The officer who by ordinance, order or administrative policy is in charge of an office of the city that creates or receives records.
Essential record.
Any record of the city necessary to the resumption or continuation of operations of the city in an emergency or disaster, to the re-creation of the legal and financial status of the city or to the protection and fulfillment of obligations to the people of the state.
Permanent record.
Any record of the city for which the retention period on a records control schedule is given as permanent.
Records control schedule.
A document prepared by or under the authority of the records management officer listing the records maintained by the city, their retention periods, and other records disposition information that the records management program may require.
Records liaison.
The person or persons designated by the department head under section 1.02.036.
Records management.
The application of management techniques to the creation, use, maintenance, retention, preservation, and disposal of records for the purpose 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.
Records management officer.
The person designated in section 1.02.035 of this division.
Records management plan.
The plan developed under section 1.02.037 of this division.
Retention period.
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.
(Ordinance 91-1-3, sec. 2, adopted 1/3/91; Ordinance 2020-0806A, sec. 2, adopted 8/6/20)
All city records as defined in section 1.02.031 of this division are hereby declared to be the property of the city. 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 authorized destruction, removal from files, or use of such records is prohibited.
(Ordinance 91-1-3, sec. 3, adopted 1/3/91)
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, consistent with the requirements of the Texas Local Government Records Act and accepted records management practice.
(Ordinance 91-1-3, sec. 4, adopted 1/3/91)
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 state library within thirty days of the initial designation or of taking up the office, as applicable.
(Ordinance 91-1-3, sec. 5, adopted 1/3/91)
(a) 
Designation.
Each department head shall designate a member of his or her staff to serve as the records liaison 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 should be designated for a department, the department head shall designate the number of records liaison specified by the records management officer. Persons designated as records liaison shall be thoroughly familiar with all the records created and maintained by the department. In the event of the resignation, retirement, dismissal, or removal of a person designated as a records liaison, the department head shall promptly designate another person to fill the vacancy. A department head may serve as records liaison for his/her department.
(b) 
Duties and responsibilities of records liaison.
In addition to other duties assigned in this division, records liaison shall:
(1) 
Conduct or supervise the conduct of inventories of the records of the department in preparation for the development of records control schedules;
(2) 
In cooperation with the records management officer, coordinate and implement the policies and procedures of the records management program in their departments; and
(3) 
Disseminate information to department staff concerning the records management program.
(Ordinance 2020-0806A, sec. 3, adopted 8/6/20)
(a) 
The records management officer and the records management administrator 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 by state law and this division.
(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 and records shall be created, maintained, stored, or disposed of in accordance with the plan.
(c) 
State law 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 division and the records management plan adopted under it may not be used by the department head as a basis for refusal to participate in the records management program of the city.
(Ordinance 91-1-3, sec. 7, adopted 1/3/91)
In addition to other duties assigned in this division, 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 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 historically valuable records of the city;
(5) 
Establish standards for filing and storage equipment and for recordkeeping supplies;
(6) 
Study the feasibility of and, if appropriate, establish a 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;
(8) 
Monitor records retention schedules and administrative rules issued by the 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 other personnel in policies and procedures of the records management plan and their duties in the records management program;
(11) 
Direct other personnel in the conduct of records inventories in preparation for the development of records control schedules as required by state law and this division;
(12) 
Ensure that the maintenance, preservation, microfilming, destruction or other disposition of the 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, including summaries of the statistical and fiscal data compiled under subsection (13); and
(15) 
Bring to the attention of the city council noncompliance by department heads or other personnel with the policies and procedures of the records management program or the Local Government Records Act.
(Ordinance 91-1-3, sec. 8, adopted 1/3/91)
In addition to other duties assigned in this division, department heads shall:
(1) 
Cooperate with the records management officer in carrying out the policies and procedures established in the city for the efficient and economical management of records and in carrying out the requirements of this division;
(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 and the requirements of this division.
(Ordinance 91-1-3, sec. 9, adopted 1/3/91)
(a) 
The city hereby adopts the appropriate records control schedules issued by the Texas State Library and Archives Commission for use in the city, as provided by law. Any destruction of records of the city will be in accordance with these schedules and the Local Government Records Act.
(b) 
The records management officer, in cooperation with department heads and records liaison, shall maintain an inventory, on a department-by-department basis, listing all records archived by the department and the retention period for each record. Records control schedules shall also contain such other information regarding the disposition of local municipal government records as the records management plan or program may require.
(c) 
The records management officer will monitor the appropriate records control schedules issued by the Texas State Library and Archives Commission to ensure that the city is in compliance with the local retention schedules issued by the state and the records’ management program of the city.
(d) 
Before implementation of the records control schedules issued by the Texas State Library and Archives Commission, adopting the Texas State Library and Archives Commission records control schedules shall 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.
(Ordinance 2020-0806A, secs. 4, 5, adopted 8/6/20)
(a) 
A records control schedule for a department that has been approved under section 1.02.037 shall be implemented by department heads 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 officer 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.
(Ordinance 2020-0806A, secs. 4, 5, adopted 8/6/20)
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.
(Ordinance 91-1-3, sec. 12, adopted 1/3/91)
A records center developed pursuant to the plan required by section 1.02.037 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 1.02.037.
(Ordinance 91-1-3, sec. 13, adopted 1/3/91)
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 the 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 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, subject to periodic review by the records management officer as to cost-effectiveness, administrative efficiency, and compliance with commission rules.
(Ordinance 91-1-3, sec. 14, adopted 1/3/91)
Under the authority of section 552.275, Texas Government Code, the city hereby establishes the following reasonable monthly and yearly limits on the amount of time that city personnel are required to spend producing public information for inspection or duplication by a requestor, or providing copies of public information to a requestor, without recovering its costs attributable to the personnel time:
(1) 
Monthly: 15 hours.
(2) 
Yearly: 36 hours.
(Ordinance 18-1101 adopted 11/1/18)
All requests from a single requestor, including requests made under surrogate or assumed names or identities, or made in conjunction or collusion with a third party, will be counted towards the requestor’s monthly and yearly time limits adopted by the city. Under the authority of section 552.222(a) of the Texas Government Code, the city reserves the right to verify the identity of any Public Information Act requestor.
(Ordinance 18-1101 adopted 11/1/18)
(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 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, or guardian of the record, does not relinquish responsibility for the car, 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.
(Ordinance 2025-0331A adopted 4/3/2025)
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 the state law and the standards and procedures for electronic storage established in the rules of the Texas State Library and Archives Commission.
(Ordinance 2025-0331A adopted 4/3/2025)