HomeMy WebLinkAboutE- 5 Azusa Police Department Records Retension Schedule (2)
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CONSENT CALENDAR
TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL
FROM: SONIA CARVALHO, CITY ATTORNEY
VIA: RICK COLE, CITY MANAGER
KING F. DAVIS, CHIEF OF POLICE
DATE: February 3, 2003
SUBJECT: AZUSA POLICE DEPARTMENT RECORDS RETENTION SCHEDULE
RECOMMENDATION:
The City Attorney recommends that the City Council adopt the proposed "Records Retention
Schedule” resolution to use as a guideline for the retention and destruction of City and Police
Department records.
BACKGROUND:
The regulations for retaining and eventually destroying public records are governed by various
State and federal statutes. Keeping track of the time periods for retaining specific records can
be frustrating. To assist the City in complying with the necessary legal requirements for records
retention, the City Attorney has prepared a Records Retention Schedule for the Azusa Police
Department which may be used by all City departments. The proposed schedule is intended to
provide guidelines for City staff regarding the retention and destruction of City records.
The proposed schedule details the legal retention period for specific records maintained by the
City, as well as the recommended retention period for these records. The proposed schedule
also includes references to statutes which set forth the retention periods for City records. This
information will assist the City in tracking future changes in the law and updating the retention
requirements when necessary.
Section 34090 of the Government Code provides that with the approval of the legislative body
and the written consent of the city attorney, the head of a city department may destroy
obsolete, outdated and excess documents which are of no use legally or otherwise to the
Department.
The Police Department has no policy or procedure limiting retention periods for documents; as a
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result, the Department has generated and ever-increasing amount of records. The amount of
storage space necessary to maintain this accumulation of paperwork is limited and the amount
of available space has decreased as the amount of records has increased and is still increasing.
The ability to be able to destroy unnecessary records will enable the Police Department to better
utilize available space and operate in a more efficient and effective manner. In order to permit
the destruction of records, the Government Code requires that the Council adopt a resolution
stating:
The Chief of Police shall have ongoing authority to authorize the destruction of
records, in accordance with the “Records Retention and Destruction Policy of the City of
Azusa Police Department” approved by the City Attorney and the City Council.
Staff recommends the adoption of the proposed policy in order for the police department to
retain and, when necessary, dispose of records in an efficient and lawful manner, without
requiring the City Council to act upon each request for destruction of records.
FISCAL IMPACT:
No fiscal impact is anticipated
Attachment: Records Retention and Destruction Policy for the Azusa Police Department
Prepared by: Gina Footdale, Administrative Services Manager
Bob Garcia, Police Captain