Item 15 - Destruction of Obsolete City Records

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City Attorney Office www.santa-ana.org/departments/city-attorneys-office/ Item # 15 or City of Santa Ana 20 Civic Center Plaza, Santa Ana, CA 92701 Staff Report May 3, 2022 TOPIC: Destruction of Obsolete City Records AGENDA TITLE: Approve Destruction of Obsolete City Records RECOMMENDED ACTION Approve the request for the destruction of obsolete records from the City Attorney's Office and Clerk of the Council's Office in accordance with the retention schedule outlined in City Council Resolution 2013-014. DISCUSSION On April 1, 2013, the City Council approved Resolution 2013-014 ("Resolution"). This Resolution provides to the multiple agencies, departments, and offices of the City, guidance on the retention of City records and how long the records need to be retained. To assist the City, the Citywide Records Team compiled the Citywide Records Retention Schedule ("Schedule") which sets forth the retention period for a particular record. The Schedule reflects the requirements of the Public Records Act, is modeled after the California Secretary of State's sample for local government, and incorporates other statutory periods applicable to Santa Ana. The Resolution attaches the Schedule, which is broken down into multiple sections covering the varied responsibilities and retention periods for a City department. These are minimum retention periods. Each department makes discretionary decisions on whether to retain records past the minimum retention period requirements. Section 5.13 of this Resolution and the City's Municipal Code requires that the City Attorney approve the destruction of a City record. Accordingly, the City Attorney and Clerk of the Council lists obsolete records proposed for destruction. A copy of the memorandum was reviewed by staff from the City Attorney's Office and approved by the City Attorney. The memorandums are attached as exhibits to this staff report. Destruction of these records will serve to benefit each office with a more efficient access to files and alleviate the City's current storage needs to maintain these obsolete records.