§ 2-238. Definitions.

The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this article, shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning:

Essential record means any record of the town necessary to the resumptions or continuation of operations of the town in an emergency or disaster, to the re-creation of the legal and financial status of the town, or to the protection and fulfillment of obligations to the people of the state.

Municipal records.

(1)

The term "municipal records" means 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 town 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 town and shall be created, maintained, and disposed of in accordance with the provisions of this article or procedures authorized by it and in no other manner.

(2)

The term "municipal records" does not include:

a.

Extra identical copies of documents created only for convenience of reference or research by officers or employees of the local government;

b.

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;

c.

Blank forms;

d.

Stocks of publications;

e.

Library and museum materials acquired solely for the purposes of reference or display;

f.

Copies of documents in any media furnished to members of the public to which they are entitled under V.T.C.A., Government Code § 552.001 et seq., or other state law; or

g.

Any records, correspondence, notes, memoranda, or documents, other than a final written agreement described by V.T.C.A., Government Code § 2009.054(c), associated with a matter conducted under an alternative dispute resolution procedure in which personnel of a state department or institution, local government, special district, or other political subdivision of the state participated as a party, facilitated as an impartial third party, or facilitated as the administrator of a dispute resolution system or organization.

Permanent record means any record of the town for which the retention period on a records control schedule is given as permanent.

Records control schedule means a document prepared by or under the authority of the records management officer listing the records maintained by the town, their retention periods, and other records disposition information that the records management program may require.

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 record keeping. The term "records management" 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 means the person designated as such in this article.

Records management plan means the plan developed pursuant to the requirements of this article.

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.

(Ord. No. 130, §§ 1, 2, 4-14-1992)