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Home My WebLink About04 - Approving Amendments to the Records Retention ScheduleQ SEW Pp�T CITY OF z NEWPORT BEACH c<,FORN'P City Council Staff Report May 27, 2025 Agenda Item No. 4 TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL FROM: Leilani I. Brown, City Clerk - 949-644-3005, (brown@newportbeachca.gov PREPARED BY: Cassandra Hawks, Records Specialist - 949-644-3005, chawks@newportbeachca.gov TITLE: Resolution No. 2025-25: Approving Amendments to the Records Retention Schedule The City of Newport Beach continues to improve its records management program by completing an annual update of its Records Retention Schedule (RRS) to incorporate new laws and business practices. On July 23, 2024, the City Council approved Resolution No. 2024-49, amending sections of the RRS, authorizing destruction of certain City records, and indicating that major or substantive revisions to the RRS are required to be considered by the City Council for review and approval. Proposed amendments to the RRS are included as exhibits to Resolution No. 2025-25. RECOMMENDATIONS: a) Determine this action is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to Sections 15060(c)(2) and 15060(c)(3) of the CEQA Guidelines because this action will not result in a physical change to the environment, directly or indirectly; and b) Adopt Resolution No. 2025-25, A Resolution of the City Council of the City of Newport Beach, California, Amending Certain Sections of the Records Retention Schedule and Authorizing Destruction of Certain Records. DISCUSSION: The RRS was originally adopted in August 2003 and provided records descriptions and applied retention periods to City records. Since then, the City Council has approved multiple revisions to the RRS. The purpose of the revisions is to keep the RRS as up to date as possible and to guide staff in the creation, maintenance and destruction of City records. The City's records retention consultant, Diane Gladwell of Gladwell Governmental Services, Inc., specializes in local government records and conducts an annual review of the City's RRS to provide recommendations based on new laws and business practices. 4-1 Resolution No. 2025-25: Amendments to the Records Retention Schedule May 27, 2025 Page 2 In addition, staff from each department periodically reviews their department's records retention schedules and provides input when required, and the City Clerk's Office meets with each department on an as -needed basis to review specific records. This collaboration, along with the consultant's review of the RRS, resulted in a set of recommended changes for the City Council to consider. These changes include, but are not limited to, consolidating retention codes, creating new codes to remain compliant with legal requirements, and removing redundant language. Additionally, the need to maintain paper has been eliminated if the digital version is preserved and meets the requirements established in the RRS. The City Clerk's Office, City Attorney's Office, and Diane Gladwell reviewed the recommended revisions to the RRS and, based on best practices, agree that the changes are acceptable. FISCAL IMPACT: There is no fiscal impact related to this item. ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW: Staff recommends the City Council find this action is not subject to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to Sections 15060(c)(2) (the activity will not result in a direct or reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment) and 15060(c)(3) (the activity is not a project as defined in Section 15378) of the CEQA Guidelines, California Code of Regulations, Title 14, Chapter 3, because it has no potential for resulting in physical change to the environment, directly or indirectly. NOTICING: The agenda item has been noticed according to the Brown Act (72 hours in advance of the meeting at which the City Council considers the item). ATTACHMENT: Attachment A — Resolution No. 2025-25 4-2 ATTACHMENT A RESOLUTION NO. 2025-25 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEWPORT BEACH, CALIFORNIA, AMENDING CERTAIN SECTIONS OF THE RECORDS RETENTION SCHEDULE AND AUTHORIZING DESTRUCTION OF CERTAIN RECORDS WHEREAS, the maintenance of numerous records is expensive, slows document retrieval, and is not necessary after a certain period of time for the effective and efficient operation of the government of the City of Newport Beach ("City"); WHEREAS, California Government Code Section 34090 et seq. provides a procedure whereby any City record that has served its purpose and is no longer required may be destroyed; WHEREAS, the State of California has adopted guidelines for retention periods for various government records; WHEREAS, on August 12, 2003, the City Council adopted Resolution No. 2003- 39, approving the initial records retention schedule ("First Records Retention Schedule"); WHEREAS, on December 12, 2006, the City Council adopted Resolution No. 2006-104, amending the First Records Retention Schedule; WHEREAS, on February 8, 2011, the City Council adopted Resolution No. 2011- 18, adopting a new records retention schedule and rescinding Resolutions Nos. 2003-39 and 2006-104 ("Second Records Retention Schedule"); WHEREAS, on May 13, 2014, the City Council adopted Resolution No. 2014-35, adopting a new records retention schedule and rescinding Resolution No. 2011-18 ("Third Records Retention Schedule"); WHEREAS, the City Council has adopted Resolution Nos. 2016-48, 2018-18, 2019-24, 2021-75, 2023-17, and 2024-49 amending the Third Records Retention Schedule ("Records Retention Schedule"); and WHEREAS, the City is continuing to improve its records management program, including updating the City's Records Retention Schedule to incorporate new laws and business practices. NOW, THEREFORE, the City Council of the City of Newport Beach resolves as follows.. 4-3 Resolution No. 2025- Page 2 of 3 Section 1: The term "records" as used herein shall include any written or electronic documents, instructions, books, microforms, electronic files, magnetic tape, optical media, papers, or other items as defined by the California Public Records Act ("CPRA") under California Government Code Section 7920.545. Section 2: The Records Retention Schedule is hereby amended, in part, as set forth in Exhibit A, with said amendments incorporated into the Records Retention Schedule as set forth in Exhibit B, both of which are attached hereto and incorporated herein by this reference. Section 3: All other parts of the Records Retention Schedule that are not modified by the adoption of this resolution, shall remain unchanged and in effect. Section 4: The records of the City of Newport Beach, as set forth in the Records Retention Schedule, as amended, are hereby authorized to be destroyed in accordance with California Government Code Section 34090 et. seq. and the applicable timeline set forth in the Records Retention Schedule, as amended, upon the request of the Department Directors and with the written consent of the City Attorney, without further action by the City Council of the City of Newport Beach. Section 5: The following amendments are hereby authorized to be made with the consent of the City Clerk, City Manager, and City Attorney, to the Records Retention Schedule, as amended, without further action by the City Council: (1) minor clarifications or improvements of records descriptions, (2) changes of Office of Record/re-naming of departments or divisions, and (3) new records series being added; as long as those additions or amendments do not reduce the retention timeline or eliminate any portion of the Records Retention Schedule, as amended. Although these items do not require City Council approval, a summary of all changes shall be made available to the City Council for review. Section 6: The City Council finds the adoption of this resolution is not subject to the California Environmental Quality Act ("CEQA") pursuant to Sections 15060(c)(2) (the activity will not result in a direct or reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment) and 15060(c)(3) (the activity is not a project as defined in Section 15378) of the CEQA Guidelines, California Code of Regulations, Title 14, Division 6, Chapter 3, because it has no potential for resulting in physical change to the environment, directly or indirectly. Section 7: The recitals provided in this resolution are true and correct and are incorporated into the operative part of this resolution. Resolution No. 2025- Page 3 of 3 Section 8: If any section, subsection, sentence, clause or phrase of this resolution is, for any reason, held to be invalid or unconstitutional, such decision shall not affect the validity or constitutionality of the remaining portions of this resolution. The City Council hereby declares that it would have passed this resolution, and each section, subsection, sentence, clause or phrase hereof, irrespective of the fact that any one or more sections, subsections, sentences, clauses or phrases be declared invalid or unconstitutional. Section 9: This resolution shall take effect immediately upon its adoption by the City Council, and the City Clerk shall certify the vote adopting the resolution. ADOPTED this 27t" day of May, 2025. Joe Stapleton Mayor ATTEST: Leilani I. Brown City Clerk APPROVED AS TO FORM: CITY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE Aaron C. Harp City Attorney Attachment(s)- Exhibit A — Records Retention Schedule Update — Individual Proposed Changes Exhibit B — Records Retention Schedule 4-5 Exhibit A Records Retention Schedule Update — Individual Proposed Changes https://www.newportbeachca.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/76679/638 833335614130000 .o Exhibit B Records Retention Schedules Available separately due to bulk at: https://www.newportbeachca.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/76677/638 833273594548679