2015-1 Records Management
ORDINANCE NO. 2015-1
AN ORDINANCE OF THE VILLAGE OF BAILEY’S PRAIRIE, TEXAS, PROVIDING FOR MANAGEMENT AND DESTRUCTION OF RECORDS; PROVIDING DEFINITIONS AND POLICIES; DESIGNATING A RECORDS MANAGEMENT OFFICER; PROVIDING FOR AND APPROVING A RECORDS MANAGEMENT PLAN; PROVIDING DUTIES OF THE RECORDS MANAGEMENT OFFICER AND OF DEPARTMENT HEADS; PROVIDING FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF RECORDS CONTROLS; AND PROVIDING A SAVINGS CLAUSE AND AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
WHEREAS, Title 6, Subtitle C, Local Government Code (Local Government Records Act) provides that a municipality must establish by ordinance an active and continuing records management program to be administered by a Records Management Officer; and
WHEREAS, the Village of Bailey’s Prairie (“the Village”) 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 BOARD OF ALDERMEN OF THE VILLAGE OF BAILEY’S PRAIRIE, TEXAS:
SECTION 1. DEFINITION OF MUNICIPAL 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 them is open or restricted under the laws of the state, created or received by the Village of Bailey’s Prairie, 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 Village 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 or administrative policy is in charge of an office of the Village that creates or receives records.
(2) “Essential record” means any record of the Village necessary to the resumption or continuation of its operations in an emergency or disaster, to the re-creation of its legal and financial status, or to the protection and fulfillment of obligations to the people of the state.
(3) “Permanent record” means any record of the Village 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 Village, 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 management officer” means the person designated in Section 5 of this ordinance.
(7) “Records management plan” means the plan developed under Section 6 of this ordinance.
(8) “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. MUNICIPAL RECORDS DECLARED PUBLIC PROPERTY. All municipal records as defined in Sec. 1 of this ordinance are hereby declared to be the property of the Village. 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.
SECTION 4. POLICY. It is hereby declared to be the policy of the Village to provide for efficient, economical, and effective controls over the creation, distribution, organization, maintenance, use, and disposition of all municipal records through a comprehensive system of integrated procedures for their management from creation to ultimate disposition, consistent with the requirements of the Texas Local Government Records Act and accepted records management practice.
SECTION 5. DESIGNATION OF RECORDS MANAGEMENT OFFICER. The Village Secretary, and the successive holders of said office, shall serve as Records Management Officer for the Village. 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. RECORDS MANAGEMENT PLAN TO BE DEVELOPED; APPROVAL OF PLAN; AUTHORITY OF PLAN. (a) The Records Management Officer shall develop a records management plan for the Village for submission to the Village. 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 must be designed to enable the Records Management Officer to carry out his or her duties prescribed by state law and this ordinance effectively. See also Subsection 9 (c), which approves an existing plan. That plan satisfies the Records Management Officer’s obligation to develop an initial records management plan, but it does not impair any ongoing obligations of the Records Management Officer.
(b) Once approved by the Board of Aldermen the records management plan shall be binding on all offices, departments, divisions, programs, commissions, bureaus, boards, committees, or similar entities of the Village and records shall be created, maintained, stored, microfilmed, 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 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 Village
SECTION 7. 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 municipal 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 Village;
(5) 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 Village;
(7) 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 Village’s records control schedules are in compliance with state regulations;
(8) disseminate to the Village and department heads information concerning state laws and administrative rules relating to local government records;
(9) ensure that the maintenance, preservation, microfilming, destruction, or other disposition of the records of the Village are carried out in accordance with the policies and procedures of the records management program and the requirements of state law;
(10) maintain records on the volume of records destroyed under approved records control schedules or through records destruction authorization requests, the volume of records microfilmed or stored electronically, and the estimated cost and space savings as the result of such disposal or disposition;
(11) report annually to the Board of Aldermen on the implementation of the records management plan in each department of the Village, including summaries of the statistical and fiscal data compiled under Subsection (10); and
(12) bring to the attention of the Board of Aldermen non-compliance by department heads or other municipal personnel with the policies and procedures of the records management program or the Local Government Records Act.
SECTION 8. 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 Village 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 Village and the requirements of this ordinance.
SECTION 9. RECORDS CONTROL SCHEDULES TO BE DEVELOPED; APPROVAL; FILING WITH STATE. (a) The Records Management Officer, in cooperation with department heads, shall prepare records control schedules on a department by department basis listing all records series created or received by the department and the retention period for each series. 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 Village.
(c) Before its adoption a records control schedule or amended schedule for a department must be approved by the department head and the Board of Aldermen. The records control schedule attached hereto and incorporated herein in full is hereby approved by the Board of Aldermen.
(d) Before its adoption a records control schedule must be submitted to and accepted for filing by the 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.
SECTION 10. 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 9 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 law suit, 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 Board of Aldermen.
SECTION 11. 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.
Section 12. SEVERANCE CLAUSE. If any part of this ordinance, of whatever size, is ever declared invalid or unenforceable for any reason, the remainder of this ordinance shall remain in full force and effect.
Section 13. EFFECTIVE DATE. This ordinance shall be effective immediately upon its passage and approval.
READ, PASSED, AND APPROVED this ___________ day of ________________, 2015.
Village of Bailey’s Prairie, Texas
By:________________________
Jo Mapel, Mayor
ATTEST:
___________________________
Johnye Brown, Village Secretary
Village/Ordinance/Records Management
EXHIBIT “A”
ATTACH RECORDS MANAGEMENT PLAN BEING APPROVED.
| Document Type | Description | Retention period | Notes |
| GENERAL DOCUMENTS | |||
| Agendas | Open Meetings | If minutes describe all proceedings, 2 years; otherwise PERMANENT | |
| Closed Meetings | 2 years | ||
| Minutes | Written Minutes | PERMANENT | |
| Notes taken during meeting from which minutes are prepared | 90 days after approval of written minutes | ||
| Audiotapes of meetings where no written record prepared | PERMANENT | ||
| Supporting Documentation – one copy of each document of any type submitted for consideration, approval or other action | 2 years if action taken is otherwise reflected in minutes | All documents must be retained 2 years BUT care should be exercised in disposal | |
| Ordinances, Orders and Resolutions | PERMANENT | ||
| Petitions | Final Action + 2 years | “final Action” includes decision to take no action | |
| Proclamation | 2 years | ||
| Accident Reports | On government property | 3 years from date of report (if no claim filed) or from settlement of claim | |
| Affidavit of Publication | Publication of Municipal Ordinance | PERMANENT | |
| Publication of Election notices | Election Day +22 months | ||
| All other legal notices | 2 years | ||
| Jurisdictional Records | Records of annexation, Dis-annexation or other matters affecting territorial jurisdiction | PERMANENT | |
| Charters | PERMANENT | ||
| Contracts, Leases and Agreements | Except Construction Contracts | 4 years after termination | |
| Correspondence, Internal Memos and subject files | Administrative -regarding formal programs, projects, etc +4 years General – routine operation of program, projects or services of govt +2 years Routine – internal memos/ correspondence and subject files AV | Correspondence concerning another category of records are subject to that period (i.e. Claims or reports herein detailed) | |
| Deeds | Title opinions, abstracts, certificates – evidencing public ownership of property | PERMANENT | |
| Easements | Easements or ROW for public works | PERMANENT | |
| Insuring Policies | 5 years after expiration | ||
| Legal Opinions | Formal opinions by counsel or AG | PERMANENT | |
| Litigation Case Files | AV after decision is final or govt decides not to pursue | ||
| Public Relations Records | News, Press Releases | 2 years | |
| Public Information Requests | Non-exempt Records | Date of request +1 year | |
| Exempted Records | Date notification of exemption +2 years | ||
| Permits and Licenses | Sales, solicitation, facility usage etc. Does not include construction, health, sanitation | Exp, revocation or denial + 2 years | |
| Photographs, Images, Recordings and other non-textual material | AV | May require PERMANENT retention for historic reasons | |
| Policy/Procedure manuals | Expired/discontinued +5 years | ||
| Publications | By Govt Body | One copy – PERMANENT | |
| Records Management | Record control schedule | US | |
| Records documenting destruction of records under record schedule including requests to destroy permanent records that have been microfilmed by State Library | PREMANENT | ||
| Reports and Studies (Non-fiscal) | Annual Reports – PERMANENT Special Reports- PERMANENT Monthly, bi-monthly,quarterly or semi-annual reports – 3 years Working papers – 3 years Activity reports – 1 year | ||
| Waivers of Liability | 3 years from date of cessation of activity | ||
| Conflicts Disclosure Statements | Chap 176, LGC | Filing +3 years | |
| List of Local Govt Officers | Chap 176, LGS | US +1 year | |
| Calendar, Appts and Itinerary | CE +1 year | ||
| Insurance Claims | Property, Liability, Theft | Settlement or denial +3 years | |
| FISCAL ADMINISTRATION AND REPORTING | |||
| Fiscal Audit Records | Annual or any other audit | PERMANENT | |
| Working papers, summaries or similar records | 3 years after all questions arising from the audit are resolved | ||
| Bond Records | Proposals, prospectus, studies associated with issuance; bond registers | PERMANENT | |
| Budgets | Annual Budgets (incl amendments) | PERMANENT | |
| Special Budgets (i.e. capital improvements, grant funded projects or on emergency basis not in annual budget) | PERMANENT | ||
| Encumbrance and Expenditure records | 2 years | ||
| Budget change documentations | 2 years | ||
| Capital Assets Records | Records pertaining to costs and disposal authorization; depreciation | FE of disposal date +5 years | |
| Auction or sale of government owned assets | 1 year | ||
| Federal Revenue Sharing | Records of use of funds used by local govt | 5 years | |
| Financial Reports | Monthly, bi-monthly, quarterly or semi-annual | FE +3 years | |
| Annual reports, long range planning, capital improvement reports | PERMANENT | ||
| Grant Development | Successful grant application, terms which modify grant, financial, performance and compliance records submitted to grantor | FE +3 years | |
| Reports, planning material, etc used for successful grant application | +3 years | ||
| Investment Transactions | Documents associated with investment of public funds | FE +5 years | |
| ACCOUNTING RECORDS | |||
| Accounts Payable and Disbursements | Claim, checks, invoices, statements or other documents that authorize or reflect disbursements | FE of date of payment +3 years | |
| Funds transmittals reports to government agencies (Comptroller, etc) | FE of period covered +3 years | ||
| AP for bond funded projects | FE of date of last bond payment +3 years | ||
| Accounts Receivable Records | Bill copies, cash transfers, receipt books or similar records to document money owed | FE of date of receipt +3 years | |
| Records documenting receipt of monies by local govt which are remittable to State Comptroller | Remittance Due +5 years | ||
| Receipts for cash deposits (water/wastewater) | FE of return of deposit +3 years | ||
| Banking Records | Bank statements, canceled checks, deposit slips, check registers, etc | FE + 5 years | |
| Cost Allocation and Distribution | Records of allocation among departments; chargebacks | FE +3years | |
| Ledgers, Journals and Entry Documentation | For Fiscal years for which there is an audit | FE +5 years | |
| For Fiscal years for which there is no audit | PERMANENT | ||
| Transaction Summaries | Periodic Summaries or reports by department | Daily – 30 days Weekly – 90 days Monthly, bi-monthly, quarterly, or semi-annual – 2 years Annual – FE +3 years | |
| Unclaimed Property | Date reported +10 years | ||
| Personnel Records | |||
| Affirmative Action Plans | 5 years | ||
| Employee Selection Records | Notes of interviews with candidates, eligibility testing, offer letters, etc | 2 years from creation or completion of personnel action involved | |
| Employee Service Records | Employment history, dates of employment, DOB, SSN, positions with dates, etc | Date of Separation +75 years | |
| Employment advertisement/postings and applications | 2 years from creation or receipt | ||
| EEO reports | EEO-1,EEO-4, EEO-5 and EEO-6 reports | 3 years | |
| Equal Pay records | 2 years | ||
| Fidelity Bonds | Effective life +5 | ||
| Fingerprint Cards | Date of Separation +5 years | ||
| Oaths of Office | Useful life +5 years or % years after leaving position for which oath is required | ||
| Training and Educational Records | Certificates of completion or similar records for positions requiring | Date of Separation +5 years | |
| Unemployment compensation claims | After closed + 5 years | ||
| Form I-9 | 3 years from hire or 1 year after separation | ||
| Workers Compensation Records | CE of closure +5 years | ||
| Financial Disclosure Statements | Statements of govt. officials | 2 years | Campaign contributions and expenditures – see Election Code |
| Employee Exit Interview | Date of separation +2 years | ||
| Criminal History checks | End of probationary period or after purpose is fulfilled | ||
| Payroll Deduction Authorizations | 4 years after separation | ||
| Employee Earnings and Deductions records | Amount and date of payment | 4 years Separation +75 years where pension/benefits are implicated | |
| Federal and State Tax Forms and reports | W-4 , W-2, 1099 | 4 years after separation | |
| PURCHASING RECORDS | |||
| Bids and Bid documentation | Successful bids, Requests for proposals, bid bonds, etc | FE of award +3 years | Successful bids which result in a contract must be retained for same period as contract |
| Unsuccessful Bids | 2 years | ||
| Requests for informal bid estimates, quotes etc. where law does not require formal bidding process | 1 year | ||
| Purchase orders and Receipts | PO’s and receiving reports | FE +3 years | |
| Construction Project Records | Planning, design, construction of govt owned facilities/structures, etc | Permanent | |
| Prefab storage sheds, parking lots, recreational facilities | Completion + 10 years | Permanent if closely associated with major structures or if a historical structure | |
| COMMUNICATION RECORDS | |||
| Postal and Delivery Service Records | 1 year | ||
| Telephone Logs or Activity reports | If used for cost allocation FE+3 years; otherwise 1 year | ||
| Information Technology Records | |||
| Hardware Documentation | Manuals, OS requirements | US | |
| Indexes, tracking Systems | US | ||
| Master File Records | Until completing of third back-up cycle | Follow schedule for textual records | |
| Software Records | Until new system implemented | ||
| Input Documents | Forms designed soley for data input | Until information is verified | |
| Project records | 3 years after project completion | ||
| Software Registration, Warranties, Licenses | LA +3 years | ||