To: MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
From: MIKE COOK, IT DIRECTOR ELEANOR MANZANO, CITY CLERK
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DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION REGARDING THE CITY'S EFFORTS TO DIGITIZE AND IMPROVE OPERATIONAL PRACTICES RELATED TO CITY RECORDS
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
In April 2026, the City Council adopted a Strategic Plan that includes the goal to, "Improve Customer Service by Expanding the City's Use of Digital Tools and Online Services." As part of that goal, Council approved an Objective to "Work with Departments to identify the records and processes that can be digitized in order to improve operations and meet retention and disposition requirements. Develop a plan to digitize City records, make them more accessible to the public, and provide a progress report to the City Council."
The Citywide Records Digitization Project (Project) is the direct response to that direction. The effort focuses on expanding secure public access to official records through online tools, reducing reliance on paper-based processes, modernizing internal workflows through electronic forms and automation, and strengthening the City's overall records retention and disposition practices. Over the past year, staff have completed foundational system upgrades, coordinated extensively with Departments, destroyed a significant volume of out-dated records in accordance with approved record retention schedules, and initiated scanning and electronic storage of retained records for multiple Departments.
The City is now well-positioned to expand this work in subsequent years, subject to future funding, with the goal of improving customer service, increasing transparency, reducing long-term storage costs, and preserving the City's historic and official records in a secure and accessible electronic format.
BACKGROUND
The City maintains millions of physical documents stored in basements, vaults, offices, and off-site facilities. Historically, many of these records wer...
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