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2005/02/22 City Council Resolution 2005-043RESOLUTION NO. 2005 - 43 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF ROHNERT PARK Adopting INTERNET, E -MAIL, AND ELECTRONIC MEDIA USE POLICY WHEREAS, The City Council of the City of Rohnert Park adopted Resolution No. 99 -01, establishing an electronic media use policy, January 12, 1999; and WHEREAS, Resolution No. 99 -01 was amended April 27, 1999 by Resolution No. 99 -93 to change the language in paragraph III - Policy from "monitor" to "review ". WHEREAS, because new laws and legal cases in the area of Internet, E -mail and Electronic Media Use, staff recommends the addition of City Access and Disclosure, Security and Confidentiality information and updating former Media Use Resolutions. NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the City Council of the City of Rohnert Park that Resolution No. 2005-28 replace all existing Media Use Policy resolutions and amendments per attached Exhibit A, thereto to date. DULY AND REGULARLY ADOPTED this 22nd day of February, 2005. CITY OF ROHNERT PARK M yorJak Mackenzie ATTEST: ., n11N ERT Deputy City Clerk U'19 CIFORN® FLORES: AYE SMITH: AYE SPRADLIN : AYE VIDAK MARTINEZ: AYE MACKENZIE: AYE AYES: (5) NOES: (0) ABSENT: (0) ABSTAIN: (0) EXHIBIT A City of Rohnert Park Internet, E -Mail, and Electronic Media Use Policy Purpose The purpose of this policy is to set forth and define the appropriate use of the City of Rohnert Park's ( "City's ") computer and telecommunications systems. These systems include, but are not limited to: computers, software, networking resources, any on -line information services, the Internet and World Wide Web access and usage, electronic mail systems (e- mail), voice mail, facsimile, telephones, and all data and files within such systems. This policy also sets forth circumstances under which e-mail addresses addressed to one person may be accessed by other people within the City and when e-mail messages may be disclosed to persons outside the City administration. E -mail messages, either created or received in the transaction of public business, become official records when they are retained as documentation of official policies, actions, decisions, or transactions. As official records, e-mail messages are subject to the provisions of the California Public Records Act (PRA). This policy provides procedures for the generation, access, and inspection of public records created by or originating from using the City e -mail system. This document, as well as all other policies, rules, and regulations which apply to City employees, officials and others, such as the Public Records Act, court orders, and other relevant state and federal laws, govern the use of the City's electronic media. Scope This policy applies to all individuals who use City of Rohnert Park electronic media and to the electronic media equipment owned by the City. This policy also applies to media that is privately owned, but is used with permission on City premises for City business - related purposes. Policy Electronic media, communications, and data is provided for the use of City employees for City business - related purposes only and are not intended for personal use. Limited personal use is allowed, provided that no use of the City's electronic media shall: 1. Impair the City's business or the employee's performance; 2. Commit any illegal act; 3. Violate the City's anti- harassment policy; 4. Result in private gain or advantage for the employee (such as conducting business related to economic interests outside of City employment); or 5. Express political opinions or conduct union business except when an employee is acting in an official capacity to represent an employee unit, in which case the employee may use the system to communicate to the entire unit in order to schedule meetings, announce decisions and communicate status of issues. Should employees make incidental use of e-mail to transmit personal messages, such messages will be treated no differently than other messages, and may be accessed, reviewed, copied, deleted, or disclosed_ All electronic media, communications and data are the property of the City of Rohnert Park and the City reserves the right, at its discretion, to enter, search, and review the computer files, e-mail, voice mail, or, any other type of electronic file of any employee without prior notice or consent. This right is hereby established so that the City can assure that its property is being used appropriately and for other reasons that may include, but are not limited to, the prevention of harassment or to investigate potential violation of this policy or any other City policies. Electronic media, communications, and data are neither private nor confidential and employees do not have personal privacy rights in such media, communications, or data. Employees may use City computer resources after normal business hours for educational purposes with the prior written approval of the City Manager. Use of Electronic Media 1. On -Line Information Service Use. Use of on -line information services such as the Internet and World Wide Web is for approved plans or services of the City of Rohnert Park. Personal use of on -line information services is discouraged. Access time to on -line information services should be kept to a reasonable amount of time and for business- related purposes only. Excessive personal use of on -line services is prohibited. 2. E -Mail. The e -mail system is the City of Rohnert Park's property. Employees should disclose information or messages from the e -mail system only to authorized employees. The City of Rohnert Park reserves the right at its discretion to monitor the e -mail system to assure that its property is being used for appropriate purposes, to prevent harassment, or monitor other improper use. Employees do not have a personal privacy right in any matter created, received, stored in or sent from the e-mail system. 3. Voice Mail. The voice mail system is intended to better serve the public by providing them with immediate and current information and to make it convenient to leave a message when staff is not immediately available in- person. Voice mail is a secondary means of assisting people and City of Rohnert Park staff shall remain available to the public whenever possible. To that end, staff utilizing voice mail shall: a. Check messages as frequently as possible and return all calls in a timely manner; b. Have in place a reference to zero - default option to speak to a real person during normal business hours; and c. Update greetings on availability, holidays, and when messages will be returned. 4. Computers, Computer Software and Computer Files. a. Only hardware or software that has been approved for use by the Information Systems Manager or designee may be purchased, installed and/or used by City employees on City equipment and systems; b. Software shall be used in accordance with the manufacturers' licensing agreements; c. Software purchased by the City may not be used or taken for personal use; and d. All outside diskettes shall be examined by anti -virus software prior to file transfer.to any City of Rohnert Park hardware. Prohibited Uses of Electronic Media Prohibited uses of Electronic Media include, but are not limited to: 1. Illegal activities as defined by local, state, or federal law, including copyright law; 2. Committing fraud or stealing data or equipment, 3. Harassment or disparagement of others based on race, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, age, disability, or religious or political beliefs. These include, but are not limited to, slurs, obscene messages, materials, and pictures; 4. Threatening messages; S. Political endorsements; b. Commercial activities including areas of personal financial gain; 7. Intentionally disrupting network traffic or crashing the network and connected systems (for example sabotage or intentionally a computer virus); 8. Unauthorized access to others' files or vandalizing the data of another user; 9. Forging e-mail messages; 10. Wasteful use of system resources; 11. Personal messages such as chain letters; 12. Computer games during business hours. Citv Access and Disclosure 1. Ownership. All electronic systems, hardware, software, temporary or permanent files, and any related systems or devices used in the transmission, receipt, or storage or e-mail, or for the Internet, are the property of the City. Supervisors have the authority to inspect the contents of any equipment, files, calendars, Internet history files, or electronic mail of their subordinates in the normal course of their supervisory responsibilities. The data management administrator shall extract stored e-mail messages or Internet history files when requested to do so by authorized supervisory personnel. Reasons for review include, but are not limited to: a. To diagnose or repair any system hardware or software problems, general system failure, and conduct regular system maintenance; b. If required by law to do so; c. When necessary to investigate a possible violation of a City policy; d. In the event there is reasonable suspicion that a user has committed or is committing a crime against the City or for which the City could be held liable; e. When there is a need to perform work or provide a service when the employee is unavailable; or f. To save messages that pertain to City business. 2. Public records. E -mails retained in the ordinary course and scope of City business are public records subject to disclosure pursuant to the PRA. If an e -mail is to be retained in the ordixaai -j course and scope of City business, it must be archived within seven days of receipt or generation by either printing out a hard copy for filing or saving it to a disk. If an e-mail is not to be retained in the ordinary course and scope of City business, employees are to delete it within seven days of receipt or generation. Securily and Confidentiality 1. Privacy. Employees should be aware that e-mail messages may be read by others for a variety of valid reasons. Although this statement is true of many other types of City correspondence, the nature of e -mail can lead one to forget or ignore the fact that e -mail cannot be considered to be the private property of the sender or recipient, even though passwords or encryption codes are used for security reasons. Access to Internet sites is not confidential. 2. Deletion of Messages. The City strongly discourages the local storage of large numbers of e- mail messages. Retention of messages fills up large amounts of storage space on the network server, and can also slow down performance. In addition, because e-mail messages can contain confidential information, it is desirable to limit the number, distribution, and availability of such messages. rd 3. Cautions. a. Both the nature of e-mail and the public character of the City's business make e-mail less private than users may anticipate. b. E -mail, whether or not created or stored on City equipment, may constitute a City document subject to disclosure under the PRA, other laws, or as a result of litigation. Users of the City's e -mail system also should be aware that the PRA. and other laws may prohibit the City from shielding personal e-mail from public disclosure. c. Elected officials and employees that work directly with them should be cognizant of the fact that certain communications through e-mail may constitute an unlawful meeting under the Brown Act. Dissemination of Policy All employees, supervisors, department heads, City Councilmembers, City Board and Commission members shall be provided a copy of this Policy.