TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL
FROM: Cristal McDonald, City Clerk
PREPARED BY: Angela Martin Van der Baan, Records Manager
SUBJECT: Citywide Records Management Program Update and Adoption of
Records Retention Schedule
title
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RECOMMENDATION
recommendation
Adopt Resolution No. 23-4719 entitled: A Resolution of the City Council of the City of Murrieta, California, Rescinding All Prior Records Retention Resolutions and Policies and Adopting a Records Retention Schedule; and
Direct the City Clerk to develop a Records Management Administrative Policy upon approval of Resolution No. 23-4719.
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PRIOR ACTION/VOTE
On October 6, 2009, the City Council adopted Resolution No. 09-2377, amending the City's records retention/disposition schedule (Vote: 4-0-1).
On July 6, 2010, the City Council adopted Resolution No. 10-2544, amending the City's records retention/disposition schedule (Vote: 5-0).
On January 17, 2012, the City Council adopted Resolution No. 12-2862, amending the City's records retention/disposition schedule (Vote: 5-0).
On July 7, 2015, the City Council adopted Resolution No.15-3389, amending the City's record retention/disposition schedule and authorizing updates to the schedule without further action by the City Council (Vote: 5-0).
On August 7, 2018, the City Council adopted Resolution No.18-3957, adopting City Council Policy 100-29, providing guidelines on retaining and destroying records (Vote: 5-0).
CITY COUNCIL GOAL
Maintain a high performing organization that values fiscal sustainability, transparency, accountability and organizational efficiency.
BACKGROUND
Legal Authority, Standards, and Best Practices
The City Clerk's duties and responsibilities prescribed by Chapter 2, of Part 3, of Division 3, of Title 4 of the California Government Code, and the ordinances and resolutions of the City Council, include serving as the official custodian of all City of Murrieta (City) records. California Government Code Section 34090 et seq. (Gov. Code § 34090) provides a procedure whereby any city record that has served its purpose and is no longer required may be destroyed. To assist local agencies, the California Secretary of State Archives Division (SOS) must establish guidelines for retaining local government records and providing archival support (Government Code Section 12236). However, their most recent update to retention guidelines is from 2006 and has been in the process of updating the resources and information by the end of this year.
Although Gov. Code § 34090 is the primary source of city records, local agencies rely on additional State and Federal statutes, such as the Health & Safety Code, Evidence Code, California Constitution, Revenue & Tax Code, and variations of the Government Code.
Furthermore, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) develops extensive standards to provide a framework of various guidelines and processes, resulting in trusted consistency. The Association of Records Managers and Administrators (ARMA) International provides generally accepted recordkeeping principles in alignment with several ISO publications on records management as proper standards and best practices.
Records Management (1991-2020)
In 1991, the City implemented a Citywide records management program and a filing system known as the Municipal Uniform Functional Filing System (MUFFS). The records management program and filing system enabled the City to ensure records were adequately maintained and disposed of, and a uniform filing approach was established through numerical and color coding.
On June 7, 1994, the City Council adopted Resolution No. 94-304, establishing the City's Records Retention Schedule (RRS). The RRS was adopted to establish the process for retaining all Citywide records according to departmental requirements and City, County, State, and Federal laws.
On September 21, 1999, the City Council adopted Resolution No. 99-689 to include additional records classifications.
Approximately seven years later, in 2006, the City Council adopted Resolution No. 06-1635, amending the RRS with minimal updates. On August 19, 2008, the City Council adopted Resolution No. MFD 08-101 incorporating Fire District records into the existing RRS.
On May 5, 2009, the City Council adopted Resolution No's. 09-2264 and MFD 09-110, to reduce retention of certain records and include additional record classifications. In October of the same year, the City Council adopted Resolution No. 09-2377, making 19 updates/additions to the RRS.
On July 6, 2010, the City Council adopted Resolution No. 10-2544 to revise the RRS to include adding record classifications.
After meeting with departments on the RRS on January 17, 2012, the City Council adopted Resolution No. 12-2862, updating retention periods.
In 2013, the prior City Manager approved Administrative Policy No. 300-04, City Invoice Processing, which authorized hardcopy retention of not less than three months before destruction.
In 2015, the City retained a records consultant, Gladwell Governmental Services, Inc., who conducted an inventory and made several recommendations to the existing RRS. This resulted in the City Council's adoption of Resolution No. 15-3389. In addition to the amendments, this resolution also gave collective consent to the City Clerk, City Manager, and City Attorney to update the RRS without further action from the City Council.
Since adopting the RRS, the City has completed many changes and amendments through City Council authorization or administrative approval. 2015 was the last major update to the RRS, followed by the 2018 adoption of City Council Policy 100-29, Records Retention & Destruction Policy, which provides general guidelines and procedures for City departments, including the City Clerk and City Attorney, to approve destruction without City Council action.
Records Management (2021-Present)
In mid-2021, the new City Clerk analyzed the City's records management practices, including reviewing the Electronic Content Management System (ECMS), Public Records Act procedure, RRS, applied procedures, and records for all City departments. The City Clerk determined the need for a comprehensive Records Management Program (RMP) redesign, including a new RRS, a Public Records Act policy, and a records management consultant to assist with the program redesign.
In early 2022, the City Clerk internally reorganized the departmental structure to add a Records Manager position. Additionally, consultant Diane Gladwell from Gladwell Governmental Services, Inc. (GGS) was selected to provide assessments and recommendations for upgrading the RMP. Ms. Gladwell is deemed an expert in California local government records with over 30 years of experience assisting over 200 organizations. Over several months and departmental visits, GGS identified areas of improvement for the RMP and validated the need for a new RRS. Furthermore, the City Clerk deemed the City's ECMS system inadequate and complicated, decreasing internal use by employees and external use by the public.
As a result of the assessments, a short-term Action Plan was formed to assist with redesigning the City's overall RMP. This short-term Action Plan is composed of three (3) main phases: Phase One (1) Paper Records management (all City facilities except for the Police Department), Phase Two (2) Digital/Software Management, and Phase Three (3) Email Retention Management.
Due to the voluminous nature of the RMP, the City employed two (2) temporary records clerks to provide support through June 2025. Although City staff has made notable improvements, with decades of undigitized and inaccessible information, the City remains in Phase One (1) of the short-term Action Plan, including adopting a new RRS. The timeline below (Figure 1) depicts a snapshot of the City's efforts during this period.
Proposed Records Retention Schedule (Proposed RRS)
An RRS is a critical policy document that ensures compliance with various legal records-related regulations and records management efficiencies. Therefore, it is necessary to bring forth any substantive updates for City Council review and adoption as needed. Still, ensuring continuous review of the entire RRS and related policies/procedures is imperative to provide staff with legally defensible guidelines for proper records management. Following the California Secretary of State, Local Government Records Management Guideline, § 2-2040, regardless of any amendments, a new schedule must be prepared and approved after five (5) years. After that, local agencies should adopt a review cycle that is most practical within their jurisdiction.
The upgrade of the current RRS is driven by many factors, including minimal space in City facilities, filing and maintaining duplicate records, production and management of permanent records, increasing storage expenses, addressing deficiencies of public access, technological advancements, over-retention, non-inventoried files and changes in the law. The Proposed RRS eliminates obsolete record categories, correctly categorizes records, provides legal citations, updates administrative preferences, and gives clear and specific descriptions and retention periods. Additionally, the City will transition from MUFFS to a filing system that is more intuitive and sustainable.
The Proposed RRS was drafted by GGS but written interactively with representatives from all departments. GGS and the City Clerk Department had several meetings and communications with every department to ensure, when possible, that departmental preferences were incorporated. Department director collaboration was also integral to developing the RRS, as various versions required specific expertise and approvals to move forward. After completing all necessary meetings and drafting several versions, the City Clerk and the City Manager reviewed the draft of the Proposed RRS for administrative decisions. Finally, the City Attorney's Office reviewed the final draft, ensuring compliance with all applicable laws and standard business practices for California cities.
Since the Proposed RRS is a new version, Figure 2 provides an overview of records with notable changes. Please note, this does not include all new records that have been added, nor unnecessary records that have been removed.
Figure 2 - Notable Changes
|
Records Description |
Old Retention |
New Retention |
Notes |
|
Agreements / Contracts - Non-Infrastructure Service Agreements |
Permanent or 3 years after termination |
Completion + 10 years |
The Office or Record changed from Department to City Clerk; .Infrastructure Agreements remain permanent. |
|
Board / Committee / Commission Agendas / Agenda Packets |
Permanent |
Minimum 2 years |
City Council Agenda Packets remain permanent. |
|
Board / Committee / Commission Applications |
Permanent |
2 years |
Compliant with California Government Code requirements. |
|
Board / Committee / Commission Audio Recordings |
90 days |
30 days, or after minutes are approved, whichever is longer |
Compliant with Government Code requirement. |
|
Board / Committee / Commission Video Recordings (with the exception of Planning Commission) |
Permanent |
Minimum 2 years |
City Council videos are permanent. |
|
Building Plans (Residential & Appurtenances) |
Permanent |
10 years |
California Residential Coder requires 12-month retention. |
|
Engineering - Capital Improvement Projects & Land Development |
Permanent |
Completion + 10 years or after funding agency audit, if required, whichever is longer |
Administrative Records only; final records remain permanent. |
|
Finance - Accounts Payable / Invoices |
4 years after audit |
7 years |
Standard municipal government practice |
|
Finance - W-2s |
20 years |
5 years |
Standard municipal government practice; compliant with State and Federal regulations. |
|
Human Resources - Job Specifications |
Permanent |
Discontinued + 4 years |
Standard municipal government practice; compliant with State and Federal regulations. |
|
Mylars |
Permanent (paper/electronic) |
Permanent (electronic) |
Administrative decision to destroy paper records only after imaged and quality checked. |
|
Planning Landscaping Plans |
Permanent |
15 years |
Administrative decision to retain longer than legal requirement. |
|
Real Estate Appraisals |
Permanent |
Minimum 5 years |
Meets Code of Federal Regulations requirements. |
Proposed Resolution No. 23-4719
It is standard business practice for California cities to authorize the routine destruction of records that have exceeded their adopted retention period upon the request of the Department Head and with the consent in writing of the Department Head, City Clerk, and City Attorney. Additional oversight is included by requiring the City Manager to authorize destruction.
It is also standard business practice for California cities to authorize schedule updates without the City Council's further action, which is provided in Section 6. Updates can include but are not limited to editing descriptors of record series and updating retention to meet any immediate regulatory changes. Additionally, each year, a redlined version of the schedule will be brought before the City Council as a consent item with all updates since the prior year.
Proposed Resolution No. 23-4719 adopts the Proposed RRS but also rescinds and supersedes all prior resolutions, procedures, and any other conflicting records management policies.
Information Governance
In March 2021, the City Clerk provided the City Manager and City Council with long-term projects, including public records management. Since then, gradual yet vast successes have been made, influencing operational objectives towards Information Governance.
Information Governance (IG) is the set of multi-disciplinary structures, policies, procedures, processes, and technology implemented to manage information at an enterprise level, supporting an organization's immediate and future regulatory, legal, risk, environmental, and operational requirements. In short, IG provides a wide range of benefits, such as regulatory compliance, risk reduction, accessibility, technological advancements, preservation, and standardization.
These benefits foster an environment for accessibility to information for all stakeholders. This is critical for any government organization. Several agencies struggle with the organization and management of information assets, leading to issues with accessibility, ease of use, timeliness, storage and security - all of which IG mitigates. Effective IG requires support from the City Council and active participation of employees at all levels and in all areas. Commitment to IG processes is actively promoted throughout the organization.
The implementation of a new RRS and utilization of Information Governance as a guiding principle will assist with the continued practices of responsibly and transparently managing the creation, maintenance, and preservation of accurate and accessible public records following legal requirements and best practices while ensuring the protection of citizens' rights to access and privacy.
If the RRS is adopted as recommended, the City Clerk Department has identified several records that are ready for destruction and adequately indexed and preserved, resulting in the beginning of a cycle of sustainable practices, cost-effectiveness, and transparency. Furthermore, the City Manager will approve a Records Management Administrative Policy followed by Citywide training.
FISCAL IMPACT
Through June 30, 2023, the total approximate cost of the RMP was $96,860. These costs included Diane Gladwell, temporary Records Clerks, shredding, and offsite storage services. Other ancillary costs, such as office supplies and motivational items for staff, are not included in this total.
|
Purpose |
Cost Thru 6/30/2023 |
|
Gladwell Government Services Citywide Records |
$ 20,695 |
|
Shredding Services |
4,743 |
|
Offsite Storage Services |
1,527 |
|
Apple One -Temporary Employees |
65,609 |
|
City Temporary Employees |
4,285 |
|
Total Through 6/30/2023 |
$ 96,860 |
For Fiscal Year 2023/24, the current budgeted items to support the RMP total $195,000. A description of each and the budgeted amount are listed below.
|
Purpose |
FY24 Budget |
|
Gladwell Government Services Citywide Records |
$ 3,553 |
|
Shredding Services |
7,000 |
|
Offsite Storage Services |
2,000 |
|
Scanning Services |
4,000 |
|
Purchase of a Scanner/Printer |
9,300 |
|
City Temporary Employees |
169,147 |
|
FY 2023/24 Total |
$ 195,000 |
ATTACHMENTS
1. Resolution No. 23-4719