Midwest City Council adopts records-retention policy, accepts audit and approves multiple land-use and capital items

Midwest City’s City Council on Feb. 9 adopted a citywide records-management and destruction policy, accepted the city’s annual financial audit and approved a package of planning, acquisition and capital-construction actions including a senior-center renovation contract.

The council voted to adopt a records-retention resolution establishing a five‑year general retention rule while listing exceptions for records that must be kept longer (federal grant requirements, litigation holds and specifically enumerated records). City staff said digital records will be designated as the city’s official records and that the policy clarifies legal-hold procedures for litigation and HIPAA-sensitive records. "Once we set up this policy ... we can then destroy those records" after the established time frames, staff said during the presentation.

In the audit presentation, Jake Winkler of Arlingen Associates said the firm issued an unmodified (clean) opinion on the city's financial statements for the year ended June 30, 2025, and found no material weaknesses or compliance issues in the financial- and single-audit testing, including ARPA spending and an outdoor recreation grant. Winkler noted an emphasis-of-matter paragraph tied to retrospective implementation of GASB Statement 101 but said the city's records and disclosures were "reasonably stated." Council accepted the audit by voice vote.

On land-use matters, the council approved a minor plat…