HomeMy WebLinkAbout2025-09-Resolution-Electronic Mail Records Retention and Destruction Policy-07/21/2025CITY OF SANGER, TEXAS
RESOLUTION N0.2025-09
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANGER, TEXAS, TO
ADOPT AN ELECTRONIC MAIL RECORDS RETENTION AND DESTRUCTION
POLICY; AUTHORIZING ITS EXECUTION, AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE
DATE.
WHEREAS, the City of Sanger adopted a Records Management Program, in Chapter 1,
General Provisions, Article 1.900 of the Code of Ordinances, and has adopted the Texas State
Library &Archive Commission (TSLAC) Local Government Retention Schedules; and
WHEREAS, The Electronic Mail Records Retention and Destruction Policy establishes
the internal process to be utilized to ensure that the proper management, storage, and disposal of
email records, promoting consistency and are in compliance with the City Charter, Texas Public
Information Act, TSLAC Retention Schedules, and good practices for local government; and
WHEREAS, these procedures and processes promote efficiency, effectiveness, and
significantly improve the management of email correspondence, reducing electronic storage space
on the City's servers; and
WHEREAS, the City Council finds that the passage of this Resolution is in the best interest
of the citizens of Sanger.
NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY
OF SANGER, TEXAS:
SECTION 1. The facts and recitals set forth in the preamble of this resolution are hereby
found to be true and correct.
SECTION 2. That the City Council of Sanger, Texas adopts the attached hereto and
incorporated herein as Exhibit "A".
SECTION 3. That this resolution shall become effective from and after its date of passage.
PASSED AND APPROVED THIS THE 21ST DAY OF DULY 2025.
ATTEST:
APPROVED:
,��OF SANG% � /��
:�,
,` ' � �`homas E. Muir, Mayor
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Kel Ed rds, City Secretary _
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Resolution —Electronic Mail Policy, Retention ��D�§ruction
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CITY OF SANGER
ELECTRONIC MAIL RECORDS RETENTION
AND DESTRUCTION POLICY
I. PURPOSE
The purpose of this policy is to guide City staff to appropriately and effectively use electronic
mail or email. Email communication is an integral part of the City's business and with technology
rapidly changing this policy does not address every situation. The purpose of the policy is to set
forth general principles for the use of email.
E-mail messages are the property of the City, thus, they are subject to the requirements of the
Texas Public Information Act (subject to disclosure) and the laws applicable to the State
Records Retention Schedules adopted by the City. A complete e-mail message not only
includes the contents of the communication, but also any metadata retained by the City's email
system, and any attachments.
The City desires to adopt a policy for that purpose and to prescribe guidelines and procedures
for the management of e-mail consistent with the Electronic Records Standards and Procedures
and in the interest of cost-effective recordkeeping, including long-term records retention for the
Archives of the State of Texas.
II. SCOPE
This policy covers email systems used by the City in terms of record retention and storage.
Records are created and received in both paper and electronic formats. Management of paper
and electronic records must be coordinated and controlled to reduce liability, avoid gaps in
documentation, eliminate inconsistencies, and avoid unnecessary duplication.
It is the City's policy to provide for efficient retention and disposition of email communications.
The goal is for effective email management and to ensure compliance with laws concerning the
creation, retention, and access to public records regarding email. It is important to note that, as
with other correspondence, the content of the electronic mail message determines the retention
requirement. There is no set retention schedule that encompasses all electronic mail.
E-mail accounts are provided to employees for conducting public business. Therefore,
employees should have no expectation of privacy when using the City's computer resources.
Authorized individuals within the City may monitor equipment, systems and electronic message
traffic at any time for security and maintenance purposes and reserve the right to audit networks
and systems on a periodic basis to ensure policy compliance.
Applications affected include the City's e-mail program any applications used and stored on
network servers. This policy also applies to each application used to create a -mail, including
word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, financial and accounting software, and any
customized software applications used within the City where electronic documents are stored
and whether such storage space is shared or personal.
Electronic Mail Records Retention and Destruction Policy
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III. DEFINITIONS
Information created or received by the City is a local government record if it meets the definition
in the Local Government Records Act:
Local Government Record means any document, paper, letter, book, map, photograph, sound
or video recording, microfilm, magnetic tape, electronic medium, or other information recording
medium, 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 a local government
or any of its officers or employees pursuant to law, including an ordinance, or in the transaction
of public business.
This definition does not include extra identical copies of documents created only for the
convenience of reference or research by employees.
Three types of records commonly written in email transactions relate to the following record
series: General Correspondence, Routine Correspondence and Administrative
Correspondence.
1. General Correspondence —means incoming/outgoing and internal correspondence pertaining
to the regular operation of the policies, programs, services, or projects of a local government.
May also include subject files, which are collections of correspondence, memos and printed
materials on various individuals, activities, and topics. Records Retention GR1000-26b: 2
years
2. Routine Correspondence —means correspondence and internal memoranda such as letters
of transmittal, requests for publications, internal meeting notices, and similar routine matters.
May also include subject files, which are collections of correspondence, memos and printed
materials on various individuals, activities, and topics. Records Retention GR1000-26c:
Administratively Valuable. Administratively Valuable means a record should be retained as
long as the record is valuable to the employee in their daily use. This type of record shall be
deleted when the record is no longer useful to the employee. A destruction request is not
required for these records.
3. Administrative Correspondence -means incoming/outgoing and internal correspondence
pertaining to the formulation, planning, implementation, modification, or redefinition of the
programs, services, or projects of a local government and the administrative regulations,
policies, and procedures that govern them. May also include subject files, which are collections
of correspondence, memos and printed materials on various individuals, activities, and topics.
Records Retention GR1000=26a: Four (4) years.
This type of record should be deleted when it meets the retention period. A destruction request
is required for these records.
IV. EMAIL RECORDS RETENTION POLICY
The use of electronic media such as email and other forms of electronically stored information
(ESI) has replaced paper as the predominant method to capture and store information for most
departments.
Electronic Mail Records Retention and Destruction Policy
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Due to the volume of email correspondence sent and received it is unrealistic and inefficient to
expect employees to make individual decisions regarding the retention requirements of each
email. As a result, the City establishes that as of the date this policy is signed, all City E-mail
correspondence will be kept in the E-mail Archive System for a period of four (4) years.
• The Four (4) year retention period refers to the email header, message text and includes
all attachments.
• If an e-mail must be kept longer than four years, then the e-mail must be printed and
added to an appropriate paper file, or printed and scanned into the City 's Laserfiche
system in the appropriate location.
• It is the email originator's or initial City recipient's responsibility to ensure that
these documents are moved from the email system to electronic storage (i.e.
Laserfiche with the construction project, property address, financial records,
personnel file, or etc.) for the required retention period if longer than the four (4)
year period. Note. Enforcement of the above email retention periods is based
solely on the date the email first entered the system.
Reiterating, it is the content of the E-mail that determines the required retention period.
Email will be retained in the Archive according to the established four (4) year retention
period.
V. RESPONSIBILITY
This policy applies to all employees, Council members, and other board members who are
permitted to use the City's electronic mail system and shared files for sent and received emails.
Electronic documents meeting the legal definition of a Local Government record are subject to
all records management requirements set forth in the City's Records Retention Program for sent
and received emails. For messages received from outside the City, the receiver should maintain
the official record according to the retention period for that record series.
VI. MAINTENANCE AND RECORDKEEPING REQUIREMENTS
Local Government records created using an email system will be stored in accordance with the
guidelines established by documents as amended from time to time by the Texas State Library
and Archives Commission,
VII. DISPOSITION
Local Government records may be destroyed with the approval of the Records Committee and
City Secretary pursuant to the State and City regulations governing records retention.
Security measures should be taken to protect email records from unauthorized alterations or
deletions. Convenience copies should not be kept longer than the record copies or kept in a
personal email account or portable disk drive. Backup of email is for security purposes and
disaster recovery purposes only. Backup systems are retained and managed by the City's third -
party Information Technology vendor.
Electronic Mail Records Retention and Destruction Policy
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Email accounts of separated employees will be retained on the server by the Information
Technology vendor for four (4) years in accordance with established retention guidelines.
Destruction of local government records that violate the provisions of the Local Government
Records Act is a Class A misdemeanor. Anyone destroying local government records without
authorization may also be subject to criminal penalties and fines under the Public Information
Act.
Records created using the City's a -mail system must be saved for their approved retention
period by printing the message and filing it in the appropriate paper file or by scanning the e-
mail into the City 's Laserfiche system. The Records Management Officer is responsible for
training new employees to ensure compliance with the City's approved retention control
schedules.
This policy is effective from and after its date of adoption by resolution. E-mails older than four
(4) years will need to be deleted within six (6) months from the adoption of the policy.
APPROVED:
John No6litt, City Manager
July 21, 2025
Date
Electronic Mail Records Retention and Destruction Policy
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