4.k) Staff Report-Communication Policy � \ "
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SCANDIA
Staff Renort
Date of Meeting: March 12, 2013
To: City Council
From: Kristina Handt, City Administrator
Re: Communication Policy
Agenda Item#: 4.k)
Background:
The City does not currently have a communication policy. Former staff had been working on the
policy and it was a project communicated during the transition.
Issue:
Should the City adopt a communications policy?
Proposal Details:
Included in your packet is a Communications Policy that covers mail, fax,telephone, laptop,
internet and email use. If the policy is adopted by the Council, staff would be required to sign an
acknowledgement form that they received the policy and agree to abide by it.
Fiscal Impact:
NA
Options:
1) Direct staff to place the policy on the consent agenda for the March meeting.
2) Amend and then direct staff to place the policy on the consent agenda for the March
meeting.
3) Do not adopt a Communications Policy.
Recommendation:
Option 1.
CITY OF SCANDIA
COMMUNICATIONS POLICY
To better serve our citizens and give our workforce the best tools to do their jobs, the City of
Scandia continues to adopt and make use of new means of communication and information
exchange. Many of our employees have access to one or more forms of electronic media and
services, including, but not limited to, computers, e-mail, telephones, cellular telephones, pagers,
voice mail, fax machines, external electronic bulletin boards, wire services, on-line services, the
Internet and the World Wide Web.
The City encourages the use of these media and associated services because they can make
communication more efficient and effective and because they are valuable sources of information.
This policy cannot provide rules to cover every possible situation, but will express the City's
philosophy and set forth general guidelines governing the use of electronic media and services. The
City's intent is to ensure that the electronic communication systems are used to their maximum
potential for business purposes and not used in a way that is disruptive, offensive to others or
contrary to the best interest of the City of Scandia.
GENERAL
This policy applies to all full-time, part-time and temporary employees, contractors, volunteers,
customers and all other individuals who are provided access to the City of Scandia communication
systems. This policy does not constitute a contract and revisions may be made from time to time at
the discretion of the City Council. Incidental and occasional personal use of electronic
communications resources is permitted if it does not interfere with the use of equipment for City
purpose and is not excessive, or does not unduly interfere with an employee's work time, job
activities or the job activities of other employees. All employees will be provided with a written
copy of this policy.
MAIL
City of Scandia employees may purchase postage at the City office for use on their personal mail
items. Personal mail items may be included with the City's delivery of mail to the US Post Office.
FAX
City of Scandia employees may use the City's fax machine on lunch breaks, rest breaks, before
work hours, or after work hours to fax personal communications. No charge will apply to local
faxes. Employees will reimburse the City for costs associated with long distance faxes on a
monthly basis.
TELEPHONE
Personal telephone calls shall be kept as brief as possible and shall be made during lunch breaks or
rest breaks whenever possible. No charge will apply to local calls. Employees may use their own
personal calling cards to make long distance calls or will reimburse the City for that cost on a
monthly basis. Incoming personal calls or messages may be answered by the employee,but shall be
kept as brief as possible. If an incoming message or call represents an emergency, City staff will
make every effort to contact the employee immediately.
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CELLULAR PHONE
Cellular phones are intended for the use of City employees in the conduct of their work. Employees
may use the cell phone only to make personal calls which are necessary and which enhance the
efficiency of the employee's time. Excessive calls or calls resulting in fees or roaming charges will
be reimbursed to the City by the employee. Employees are to use their cellular phone in a safe
manner at all times.
City issued cell phones and data stored on them are, and remain at all times, the property of the
City, and should not be considered private. Employees have no right to privacy as to any
information or file transmitted through or stored in the City's cell phones. The City reserves the
right to access, retrieve, read and disclose any data, messages, or files stored, transmitted or
received on City cell phones (including information downloaded from the Internet or received or
sent via e-mail) and reserves the right to monitor the use of the cell phones to protect the security of
the cell phones and prevent abuse or illegal activities.
LAPTOP/PORTABLE COMPUTER USE
It is the responsibility of the employee using a laptop computer or other portable equipment, to keep
the equipment in a safe environment, protected to the extent possible from theft or damage. Any
portable computer damaged or stolen must be reported immediately to the City. All data collected,
stored, processed or disseminated by City employees on portable computer equipment owned by the
City is governed by the Data Practices Act. Additional software or programs may not be loaded
without prior authorization and any copying of software on a portable computer for personal use is
prohibited.
Laptops and data stored on them are, and remain at all times, the property of the City, and should
not be considered private. Employees have no right to privacy as to any information or file
transmitted through or stored in the City's portable computers. The City reserves the right to
access, retrieve, read and disclose any data, messages, or files stored, transmitted or received on
City portable computers (including information downloaded from the Internet or received or sent
via e-mail) and reserves the right to monitor the use of City portable computers to protect the
security of the portable computers and prevent abuse or illegal activities.
INTERNET/E-MAIL
The City promotes Internet and e-mail use that enables employees to perform City missions and it is
expected that employees will use this tool to improve their job knowledge; access scientific,
technical and other information on topics which have relevance to the City; and to communicate
with their peers in other government agencies and industry on matters of relevance to their work for
the City. All Internet and e-mail users are responsible for using these resources in an effective,
ethical and lawful manner. Users should use the same care creating electronic communications as
they would use with oral or other written communications. Never transmit an e-mail that you would
not want your boss or other employees to read, or that you'd be embarrassed to see in the
newspaper.
The City's e-mail and Internet systems are business tools and shall be used in a professional manner
for legitimate business purposes and, at all times, remain the property of the City. The City's
computers and data stored on them are, and remain at all tiines, the property of the City, and should
not be considered private. Employees have no right to privacy as to any information or file
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transmitted through or stored in the City's computer systems, e-mail, or other technical resources.
The City reserves the right to access, retrieve, read and disclose any data, messages, or files stored,
transmitted or received on City funded systems (including information downloaded from the
Internet or received or sent via e-mail) and reserves the right to monitor the use of the systems to
protect the security of the systems and prevent abuse or illegal activities.
E-mail users should be aware the e-mail is easily misdirected or forwarded by the recipient to
untold numbers of persons and the content is easily misconstrued or altered. E-mail and Internet
users should also be aware that when they have deleted a message or document, it may not have
been deleted from the entire system and may be retrieved from the computer's back-up system.
Stored e-mail messages and other computerized data are discoverable documents, which may be
exchanged in litigation. The content of an e-mail message may subject the sender to civil liability,
discipline and criminal sanctions. The contents of electronic data sent by, between and/or to
individuals may be disclosed within or outside the City at any time for any purpose deemed
necessary by the City, subject to any limitations imposed by law, including but not limited to, the
MN Government Data Practices Act. Under this act, the public has broad access to government
records, which include data that is in the possession of the government "regardless of its physical
form, storage media or conditions of use." Electronic data, including e-mail messages, is treated as
government records subject to all state and federal rules including open meeting laws, data practices
act and human rights act.
Emplovee Guidelines
• Only city employees may use city-owned equipment. Family members or friends of
employees are not allowed to use city equipment or technology resources.
• Employees may use the City's Internet access to reach sites of personal interest during lunch
breaks, rest breaks,before work hours or after work hours. Employees may receive personal
e-mail communications during work hours, but shall not respond to those communications
during working hours, except in the case of an emergency.
• Incidental Personal Use: Although occasional and limited personal use of netbooks,
computers or other devices is tolerated, subject to the limitations, conditions, and regulations
contained in this policy, assigned devices may not be used in any way that:
o Directly or indirectly interferes with City operations of computing facilities or e-mail
services.
o Is contrary to or damages the City's interest.
o Results in any incremental costs to the City.
o Interferes with any City officer or employee's work duties,performance, or other
obligations to the City. Any personal use shall be at the risk of the person engaging
therein. The City is not responsible or liable for the consequences. Such use shall be
limited to individualized personal communications and not mass distribution of
material. Use of computer resources for such incidental personal purposes is a
privilege and can be withdrawn by the City Council at any time.
• Incidental personal use of the Internet is permitted as described above. However, employees
may not at any time access inappropriate sites. Some examples of inappropriate sites include
but are not limited to adult entertainment, sexually explicit material, or material advocating
intolerance of other people, races or religions, or in manners that otherwise violate city
policies related to respectful workplace and harassment prevention. This prohibition
includes infonnation on social media sites such as Facebook and MySpace,blogs and
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microblogs such as Twitter. If you are unsure whether a site may include inappropriate
information, you should not visit it.
• Use of city equipment or technology for personal business interests, for-profit ventures,
political activities or other uses deemed by the city administrator to be inconsistent with city
activities is not allowed. If there is any question about whether a use is appropriate it should
be forwarded to the city administrator for a determination.
• Employees shall have no expectation of privacy related to the use of the City's Internet or e-
mail. The City of Scandia retains the right to access, copy, modify or delete any and all
property. T'he City will not exercise this right without the consent of either the originator or
the recipient of data without a legitimate business purpose. The City will access information
without consent if there is a reasonable suspicion that the City's systems are being used in a
manner which violates this policy, or to document employee performance problems or
misconduct.
� Communications which would be inappropriate under other City policies are equally
unacceptable if delivered via electronic communication. These communications may
include, but are not limited to, harassing or discriminatory comments, breaches of
confidentiality, and insubordinate statements. Do not gossip or include personal information
about yourself or others in an e-mail. Do not use harassing language, including sexually
harassing language or any remarks including insensitive language or derogatory, offensive
or insulting comments or jokes in an e-mail.
• All information developed on a City computer system or introduced to a City computer
system is considered work product of the City, regardless of where it was created. Any files
developed by a City employee on computers outside of the City, if in conjunction with his or
her employment with the City, is the property of the City and copies of those files must be
provided to the City.
• Employees shall only use software that is supplied by the City, including but not limited to,
web browser and e-mail applications. Employees shall not install hardware or software on
the City's system without the express permission of the City Administrator or their
Deparhnent Head. Employees are responsible for proper management of files; deleting
outdated files and conducting virus scans prior to opening or downloading files.
• Employees shall not access, intercept, record, read, modify, or delete the files belonging to
others. Employees shall not divulge passwords or security protocols to anyone outside of
the City of Scandia and shall not permit unauthorized users to use their password or the
City's Internet or e-mail access.
• Employees will not be held responsible for any unsolicited e-mail received that contains
inappropriate materials. The employee should immediately delete the e-mail and in no
instance shall the e-mail be forwarded to any other recipient. If an employee inadvertently
accesses an Internet site which is inappropriate or prohibited, the employee shall
immediately escape from such site.
• Do not open e-mail attachments or links from an unknown sender. Delete junk or"spam" e-
mail without opening it if possible, do not respond to unknown senders.
• Employees who resign, are terminated, laid off, suspended or otherwise cease employment
with the City of Scandia have no right to the contents of their e-mail messages and shall not
be allowed access to the computer system.
• Employees shall not knowingly use the City's computer systems to violate any local, state or
federal law. Use of any City resources for illegal activity is grounds for disciplinary
procedures.
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PASSWORDS AND PHYSICAL SECURITY OF EQUIPMENT
Your passwords should not be shared or told to anyone. If it is necessary to access an employee's
computer when he or she is absent, contact the city administrator. Passwords will be stored in a
hard copy file that is locked. Do not store passwords electronically in a palm pilot or cell phone
system.
Employees should use caution if they leave equipment unattended because it is generally small and
portable. Do not leave city computer equipment in an unlocked vehicle or unattended at any off-site
facility(airport,restaurant, etc.).
DISCLAIMER
While the City of Scandia has adopted and shall enforce this policy to the extent practicable, it does
not have the resources or technical capability to ensure complete compliance by its users, who shall
be individually responsible for adhering to the terms of this policy. The City of Scandia shall not
assume and hereby expressly disclaims liability for the misuse of its communication systems,
computers, equipment or Internet access, which violates this policy or any law.
This Policy does not cover employee-owned computer devices being used for City work. Employee
owned devices used for City Business will be provided access to the City Wi-Fi service in City
owned buildings.
All other policies, procedures, ordinances, and rules adopted by the City Council and work rules, as
stated in the City of Scandia Personnel Manual, governing employee conduct are applicable to the
use of City electronic media resources.
This Policy shall not be construed in a manner that causes it to conflict with any other State or
Federal law or any City ordinance.
CONSENT AGREEMENT
As a condition of employment, all City employees must acknowledge that all computer and
electronic systems, including but not limited to, e-mail and Internet activity, are the property of the
City and; therefore, they should not consider any activity to be private. Employees must sign the
consent form, acknowledging that they have received a copy of this policy, read it, and understand
the City's policy and the potential penalties for non-compliance.
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CITY OF SCANDIA
ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF RECEIPT OF COMMUNICATIONS POLICY
I, , an employee of the City of Scandia, hereby acknowledge that I
have received a copy of the City's Communications Policy and have read and understood the
information contained therein. As acknowledged by my signature, I hereby agree to abide by the
stated policy and understand that this receipt will be filed with my personnel records.
SIGNATURE DATE
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