Fresno officials destroy 16 years of records.

• Position: GOVERNMENT RECORDS - Brief article

Fresno, Calif., officials, acting with the city council's approval, destroyed 16 years of tape recordings of council meetings from 1992 through 2007, The Fresno Bee reported.

The Bee said state and local law allows cities to periodically reduce the amount of dated documents from its archives, but at least one city council member has said destroying the tapes was a mistake and the resolution that allows such destruction should be revised.

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In September 2008, the Fresno City Council unanimously approved a revised records retention schedule that allows the city to destroy several reports and documents after one or two years. In keeping with these guidelines, the city clerk's office recently requested permission from the city attorney's office to destroy eight boxes of council meeting tapes. The request was approved and the tapes were destroyed.

The city clerk's office now has cassette tapes only of council meetings in 2008 and 2009, as tapes from...