HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council Resolution 2324 RESOLUTIC!q N0. 2324
RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SARATOGA ESTABLISHING A POLICY
F(~ THE ~ OF PUBLIC REEORDS FOR THE CITY OF SARATOGA
THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SARATOGA DOES HEREBY RESOLVE:
SECTION 1. .Purpose: The declared purpose of this Resolution is to provide for the
proper ~mn'~ efficient management of the public records of the City of Saratoga.
SFL'~ION 2. Definitions:
(a) Archives means a repository for housing permenent or historic records, whether
in paper or microfilm form, which must be protected or preserved from
destruction.
of Saratoga.
(c) Disposition means the allocation of public records to a particular location
according to their categorization, or for destruction.
(d) Inactive record means any public record which is transferred to a records center
for storage until it has met its specific retention requirements and may be
destroyed. "Inactive record" does not include any public record which is
permanent or historic in nature and which must be protected and preserved from
destruction.
(e) Public record means any writing, regardless of physical form or characteristics,
w'4'i6Ff~ created, owned, used, maintained, or retained in the conduct of city
business and preserved as evidence of the organization, functions, policies,
decisions, procedures, operations, or other activities, or because of the
informational value of the data contained therein. '~Public record" does not
include the records and files of the City Attorney customarily maintained in his
office, and those certain records which are not retained by the city in the
ordinary course of business. Such exempt records include, but are not limited
to, preliminary drafts, notes, interagency or intra-agency memoranda and
bulletins, messages and working papers customarily discarded, confidential
communications from the City Attorney, stenographic notes, and tapes used in
transcript t on.
(f) Records Center means a central repository for housing inactive records until
they' have met their specific retention requirements and may be destroyed.
(g) Records Management means the systematic control of the creation, acquisition,
processing, use, protection, storage, and final disposition of all public
records, including the establishment and maintenance of a system of filing and
indexing public records.
(h) Retention schedule means the dockanent describing records maintained by the city
and specifying in accordance with statutory requirements or evaluation, the
period of time established for their retention which must elapse before
destruction may be made of a body of records.
(i) Writing means any handwriting, typewriting, printing, hotostating,
photographing, and every other means of recording upon any form oF commtmication
or representation, including letters, words, pictures, sounds, or symbols, or
combinations thereof, and all papers, maps, magnetic or paper tapes,
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photographic films and printer, magnetic or punched cards, discs, drums, and
other documents.
SECTION 3. Ownership of Public Records. All public records shall be the property of
'the city of Saratoga; ~d~is regard, such records shall be delivered by outgoing
officials and employees to their successors.
SECTION 4. Inspection of Public Records. Except as hereinafter provided, every
perso~ sha"il ~a~e the ri~f~t to ins~ a'~ public record, consistent with procedures
set forth in the Government Code and subject to such other procedures as may be
established by resolution of the City Council which are not inconsistent with the
Government Code for such inspection. The following records shall be exempt from
inspection:
(a) Preliminary drafts, notes, interagency or intra-agency memoranda, or other
records which are not retained by the city in the ordinary course of business or
are not defined as a public records in Section 2e hereof;
(b) Records pertaining to pending litigation to which the city is a party, or claims
made pursuant to Div. 3.6 of Title 1 of the California Government Code, until such
litigation or claim has been finally adjudicated or otherwise settled;
(c) Personnel, medical, or similar files, the disclosure of which would constitute
an unwarranted invasion of persolml privacy;
(d) Records relating to complaints or to investigations conducted by, or
records of intelligence information or security procedures of the
Community Services Department, or any such investigatory or security
files compiled by the City of Saratoga for correctional, law enforcement
or licensing purposes.
(e) Test questions, scoring keys, and other examination data used to administer a
licensing or employment examination;
(f) The contents of real estate appraisals, engineering or feasibility estimates and
evaluations made for or by the City of Saratoga relative to the acquisition of
property or to prospective public supply and construction contracts, until such
time as all the property has been acquired or all the contract agreements
obtained, provided, however, the law of eminent domain shall not be affected by
this provision;
(g) Information required from any taxpayer in connection with the collection of
local taxes which is received in confidence and the disclosure of which to other
persons would result in unfair competitive disadvantage to the person supplying
such information;
(h) Library or historical materials made or acquired and presented solely for the
purpose of reference or exhibition;
(i) Records the disclosure of which is exempted or prohibited pursuant to provisions
of federal or state law, including, but not limited to, provisions of the
Evidence Code relating to privilege;
(j) Statements of personal worth or personal financial data required by a licensing
agency to establish his personal qualifications for the license, certificate, or
permit applied for.
Nothing in this section is to be construed as preventing the City of Saratoga from
opening its records concerning the administration of the city to public inspection,
unless disclosure is otherwise prohibited by law.
SECTION 5. Withholding Records from Inspection. The City of Saratoga may
justify w'rthholding any record by ~[~strating that the record in question is
exempt under applicable provisions of the California Government Code or that,
on the facts of the particular case, the public interest served by not making
the records public clearly outweighs the public interest served by disclosure
of the record.
SECTION 6. Ri ht to Receive Copy of Public Record; Fee. Any person may receive a
copy of any ~[i~ble public re~d or copy thereo.[T"Upon request, an exact copy
shall be provided unless it is impracticable to do so. A request for a copy of an
identifiable public record or information produced therefrom, or a certified copy of
such record, shall he accompanied by a fee in an amomt established by Resolution of
the City Council.
SFL'rION 7. RestXmsibilities.
(a) City Council. The responsibility for the keeping and management of all public
records' of ~ e City of Saratoga shall rest with the City Clerk::.
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(b) Officers and employees. It shall be the duty of each officer and employee of
the City o'[ Saratoga to protect, preserve, store, transfer, destroy or otherwise
dispose of, use and manage public records only in accordance with applicable
federal, state or local law, or such rules as may he promulgated or approved by
the City Council.
(c) City Clerk. It shall be the duty of the City Clerk to coordinate the Records
Management Program for the City of Saratoga. In this regard, the City Clerk
may, among all other things that may be required for the proper and efficient
management of the public records of the City of Saratoga:
(1) Develop and circulate such instructions and regulations as may be necessary
and proper to implement and maintain the Records Management Program;
(2) Advise and assist city departments in the preparations of records
inventories and retention schedules.
(3) Maintain a Records Center to house records no longer required in active
office areas but which records require further retention due to legal or
operating reasons; and maintain an index to all records stored in the
Center;
(4) Maintain an Archives to house records of a permanent or historic nature
which under no circunstances may he destroyed;
(5) Advise and assist city departments in reviewing and selecting records to be
transferred to the records Center or Archives;
(6) Advise and assist, as the City Clerk deems necessary, city departments in
conducting surveys, studies and investigations as will assist in promoting
a proper and efficient Records Management Program for the City of Saratoga;
(7) Submit records retention schedules which affect the destruction of records
to the City Gouncil for approval;
(8) Develop procedures for the protection of city records against natural or
other disasters.
(d) Cit), Departments. City departments shall establish and maintain an active,
continuing program for the economical and efficient management of the public
records of the departments. Such programs shall, among other things, provide
for:
(1) Effective controls over the creation, maintenance, and use of public
records in the ccr~uct of business;
(2) Promotion of the maintenance and security of records deemed appropriate for
preservation;
(3) Segregation and disposal of records of temporary value in accordance with
established retention schedules.
Those public records which are not required in the current operation of the
office where they are made or kept shall be transferred to the Records Center
until they have met their specific retention requirements and may be destroyed;
or to the Archives, if of a permanent or historic nature, so they may be insured
permanent preservation. All records which can properly be abolished or
discontinued shall be destroyed in accordance with Section 8 hereinafter
specified.
SECTION 8. Destruction of Public Records. The City Council may, by approving the
records ~'etention sched'G'les, grant to city officers and department heads the
authority to destroy duplicate records less than two years old if they are no longer
required in accordance with the retention periods established in the schedules.
Requests for the destruction of original records, without making a copy and in
accordance with established retention schedules, shall be forwarded to the City
Attorney for his written consent and to the City Council for its approval as provided
for by the California Government Code governing municipalities. This section does
not authorize the destruction of the following original records:
(a) Records affecting the title to real property or liens thereof;
(b) Court records;
(c) Records required to be kept by statute;
(d) Records less than two years old;
(e) The minutes, ordinances or resolutions of the City Council or of a City Board or
Ccmnission.
This section shall not be construed as limiting or qualifying in any manner the
authority provided in Section 9 hereinafter provided for the destruction of records,
documents, instruments, books and papers in accordance with the procedures therein
prescribed.
SECTION 9. Conditions of Destruction. Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 8
heretrm~'~e described, t'~e City officer having custody of public records, documents,
instruments, books and papers may, wi~:h the approval of the City Council .and the
written consent of the City Attorney, cause to be destroyed any or all of such
records, documents, instruments, books and papers, if all the following conditions
are met:
(a) The record, paper, or document is photographed, microphotographed, or reproduced
on film of a type approved for permanent photographic records by the National
Bureau of Standards;
(b) The device used to reproduce such record, paper or document on film is one which
accurately and legibly reproduces the original thereof in all details;
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(c) The photographs, microphotographs, or other reproductions on film are made
accessible for public reference as the book records were;
(d) A true copy of archival quality of such film reproductions shall be kept in a
safe and separate place for security purposes.
Provided, however, that no page of any record, paper or document shall be destroyed
if any such page cannot be reproduced on file with full legibility. Every such
unreproducible page shall be permanently preserved in a marker that will afford easy
reference.
The above and foregoing resolution was passed and adopted at a regular meeting
of the Saratoga City Council held on the 19th day of March, 1986, by the
following ~ote:
AYES: Counci~rs Callcm~ Fanelli, Hlava, l~les and Mayor Clevenger
NOES: None
ABSENT: None
Hayor ' ~ ~
ATTEST;
City Cler'k