TO: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
THRU: Tom Kisela, City Manager
FROM: Pamela Coleman, City Clerk
1. Subject
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Adoption of records retention schedules. Resolution No. 11530.
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2. Summary
The City is upgrading its record management program, including its record retention policies. The adoption of this retention schedule will result in efficiency gains and cost savings.
3. Recommended Action
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Adopt Resolution No. 11530. A Resolution of the City Council of the City of Orange adopting a records retention schedule and authorizing destruction of certain city records.
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4. Fiscal Impact
None.
5. Strategic Plan Goals
Goal 4: Provide outstanding public service
b: Provide facilities and services to meet customer expectations.
c: Enhance technology to improve public accessibility to information and services.
6. Discussion and Background
Orange selected Gladwell Governmental Services, Inc., an expert in local government records, to update its records management program. An upgrade in the existing program was also necessary to reduce current and future records storage costs, eliminate duplication of effort, increase efficiency, and take advantage of current technology and changes in law.
The upgrade of the current records management systems is driven by many factors, including:
• Very limited space in city facilities
• Many departments are filing and storing copies of the same records
• Orange produces and manages many permanent records
• Escalating records storage expenses
• Technology advancements
• Changes in law
The purpose of the program is to apply efficient and economical methods to the creation, utilization, maintenance, retention, preservation, and disposal of all records managed by the City.
The retention periods are in compliance with all laws and are standard business practices for California cities.
The new retention schedules were written interactively with representatives from all departments participating in the project. They provide clear, specific records descriptions and retention periods, and apply current law and technology to the management of city records. By identifying which department is responsible for maintaining the original record, and by establishing clear retention periods for different categories of records, Orange will realize significant savings in labor costs, storage costs, free filing cabinet and office space, and realize operational efficiencies.
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, which is provided in Section 2 of the proposed resolution. This will reduce costs and improve efficiency for the City.
It is also standard business practice for California cities to authorize updates to the schedule without further action of the City Council, which is provided in Section 3.
7. ATTACHMENTS
• Resolution No. 11530