April 21, 2026
City Clerk's Office
DATE: April 21, 2026
TO: Mayor Martinez and Members of the City Council
FROM:
Pamela Christian, City Clerk
SUBJECT:
Records Retention and Destruction Schedule Update
FINANCIAL IMPACT: Richmond will realize significant savings both in labor and storage expenses; including the avoidance of future storage costs.
PREVIOUS COUNCIL
ACTION:
May 18, 1999
October 29, 2002
June 17, 2008
STATEMENT OF THE
ISSUE:
The City is upgrading its records management program,
including its records retention policies. The adoption of this retention schedule will result in efficiency gains and cost savings.
RECOMMENDED ACTION: ADOPT a resolution approving updates to the City-wide Records Retention and Destruction Schedules, excluding
the Police Department, which will be brought back to City Council for adoption at a later date – City Clerk’s Office (Pamela Christian 510-620-5413). This item was
continued from the March 24, and April 7, 2026,
meetings.
DISCUSSION:
The City established its Records Retention Program on May 18, 1999, to support the management and preservation of public records. This was advanced on October 29, AGENDA
REPORT
April 21, 2026
2002, with the adoption of a records retention schedule for the City Clerk’s Office and expanded on June 17, 2008, with City-wide retention schedules, creating a consistent framework across departments.
Since then, operational practices, legal requirements, and technology have evolved. To address these changes, the City is updating its records retention and destruction schedules to align with current standards, improve consistency, reduce storage costs, eliminate duplication, and increase efficiency.
The City of Richmond selected Gladwell Governmental Services, Inc., an expert in local government records, to assist with this comprehensive update and strengthen the City’s records management program. An upgrade in the existing program was necessary to reduce current and future records storage costs, eliminate duplication of effort, increase efficiency and take advantage of current technology and changes in law.
The upgrade of the current records management systems are driven by many factors, including:
Very limited space in City facilities
Many departments are filing and storing copies of the same records Richmond produces and manages many permanent records
Escalating records storage expenses
Technology advancements
Changes in law
The purpose of the program is to apply efficient and economical methods to the creation, utilization, maintenance, retention, preservation and disposal of all records managed by the City.
The retention periods are in compliance with all laws and are standard business practice for California cities.
The new retention schedules were written interactively with representatives from all departments participating in the project. They provide clear, specific records descriptions and retention periods, and apply current law and technology to the management of City records. By identifying which department is responsible for maintaining the original record, and by establishing clear retention periods for different categories of records, Richmond will realize significant savings in labor costs, storage costs, free filing cabinet and office space, and realize operational efficiencies.
1. It is standard business practice for California cities to authorize the routine destruction of records that have exceeded their adopted retention period, upon the request of the Department Head and with the consent in writing of the Department Head, City Clerk and City Attorney, which is provided in Section 2 of the resolution (California Government Code § 34090). This will reduce costs and improve efficiency for the City.
April 21, 2026
It is also standard business practice for California cities to authorize updates to the schedule without further action of the City Council, which is provided in Section 3 of the resolution (California Government Code § 34090).
DOCUMENTS ATTACHED:
Attachment 1 – Proposed Resolution
Attachment 2 – Exibit A - Updated Records Retention Schedules (Police Department excluded)