How City Records Are Stored and Who Has Access to Those Records

City staff and officials have received emails expressing concern over how city records are stored and who has access to those records, and some misinformation has been spread on a public website. I hope this summary can clear the air.

All who work for the city take security very seriously, and also do everything necessary to comply with various laws. With regard to city records, electronic records that are required by law to be maintained are done so on a secure server, which is kept in a climate controlled locked room so that no unauthorized persons may access the contents. Additionally, all contents of the city server are backed up at an offsite location so that if the city server was damaged in any way, the contents are recoverable. The city recorder, who is the person responsible for maintaining records, has the ability to access the server from her desktop and does not need physical access to the server in order to maintain city records. This is common practice among governmental and private entities.

As far as access to the server, all employees and officials have a unique username and password that can be used to access email and only those records needed for their day-to-day work activities. The only person who has unlimited access to the server and who has the ability to change server characteristics is the third party IT vendor hired by the city to maintain the server and handle all IT aspects within the city. Nobody within the city, including the city manager and mayor, has that level of access. This ensures that the security of the server is not compromised with the changing of staff and officials.

All staff and elected officials have participated in numerous trainings regarding GRAMA laws and the storage of city records and are complying with all aspects of those laws. City records are maintained properly and are secure, and all GRAMA requests are being fulfilled as outlined by State law.

If you have concerns or questions, please don’t hesitate to contact any city official or the city manager. We are happy to answer any questions.

Jenney Rees