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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council Resolution 21-049 amending Electronic Communications PolicyRESOLUTION NO.21-049 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SARATOGA AMENDING THE CITY COUNCIL AND COMMISSIONS ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS POLICY WHEREAS, the City of Saratoga seeks to promote effective use of electronic communications by City Council members and Commissioners in conducting City business and to create a system that allows compliance with state and federal laws governing electronic communications including the Brown Act, the Public Records Act, records retention laws, and state and federal rules of evidence; and WHEREAS, the City Council approved Resolution No.10-026 on May 19, 2010 adopting the City Council and Commission Electronic Communications Policy; and WHEREAS, the City Council wishes to update that policy to reflect changes in the law and City practices and to promote clarity. NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the City Council of the City of Saratoga does hereby adopt the attached amended City Council and Commission Electronic Communications Policy and declares that this Resolution shall supersede all prior resolutions, policies, and understandings relating to the City Council and Commission Electronic Communications Policy. The above and foregoing resolution was passed and adopted at a regular meeting of the Saratoga City Council held on the 21"day of July 2021 by the following vote: AYES: Mayor Yan Zhao, Vice Mayor Tina Walia, Council Members Mary -Lynne Bernald, Kookie Fitzsimmons, Rishi Kumar NOES: ABSENT: ABSTAIN: Yan Zhao, Mayor AT f)ST:� DATE: D to Bretschneider, CMC, City Clerk CITY OF SARATOGA City Council and Commissions Electronic Communications Policy Updated July 21, 2021 I. Purpose: Use of electronic media is necessary and useful for City Council and Commission members in order to improve communication and efficiently perform their City duties. The purpose of this policy is to ensure the proper use of the City's electronic media and to set out the policy the City Council and Commission members will follow when using electronic media and the City's electronic communication system. This policy will also insure that use of City electronic media complies with applicable law, including the Public Records Act and Brown Act. This policy is applicable to all City Council members and Commissioners. II. Definitions A. City's Electronic Communication System — City -owned devices or products designed to electronically process, transmit, or store information such as computers, phones, cell and smart phones, printers, modems, data files, and e-mail. B. E-Communication — electronic text or visual communication and attachments distributed via e-mail, websites, instant messaging, text messaging, social media platform (such as Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram), or comparable services. C. Electronic Media — a method for processing or transmitting information in electronic form, including E-Communication, software programs and the Internet. D. Social Media Platform - an online service that members of the general public have the ability to access and participate, free of charge, without the approval by the social media platform or a person or entity other than the social media platform, including any forum and chatroom, and cannot be blocked from doing so, except when the social media platform determines that an individual violated its protocols or rules. III. General Procedures A. Procedures for Electronic Communications. E-Communication by nature represents and reflects upon the City's public image and integrity. Council members and Commissioners should ensure that their messages are respectful, professional, and are consistent with City policies. E-Communication should be written or otherwise presented in the same professional and respectful manner as paper communications. The City's Electronic Communication System shall be used only for City business. B. City Council E-mail Accounts and E-Communications. All Council members will be issued accounts for use of City electronic media for e-mail on City business. Council members shall not use their personal or business e-mail accounts or addresses for any communication pertaining to City business. When using e-mail, users should communicate with the public and staff solely via their designated City e-mail addresses. Council members shall not commingle E-Communication pertaining to City business with E-Communication pertaining to their personal life or business. If a personal or business e-mail addresses is inadvertently used for City business the Councilmember shall forward that communication to the City Clerk and notify the other party to the communication that future communication on that matter should occur through the City issued e-mail address. Council members shall keep a record of all E-Communications other than e-mail communications (such as social media or text conversations) and provide a copy to the City Clerk upon request in the event of a Public Records Act request. C. Commissioner E-Communications. Commissioners use their personal E- Communications accounts for City business. All E-Communications concerning Commission business must include a copy to the Commission staff liaison; this ensures that the City has a record of all E-Communications concerning City business. Members of the public may contact Commissioners through the City website; these communications are forwarded to each Commissioner. Commissioners shall keep a record of all E-Communications other than e-mail communications (such as social media or text conversations) and provide a copy to the Commission liaison upon request in the event of a Public Records Act request. D. Electronic Communications between Council members or Commissioners Concerning City Business. Communications from (1) a Council member to another Council member or members concerning City business, and (2) a Commissioner to another Commissioner or Commissioners concerning Commission business should be "one way" and marked "For Information Only —Do Not Reply." E. E-Communications with the Public. In accordance with the Brown Act, Council members and Commissioners may engage in separate conversations with members of the public on Social Media Platforms to answer questions, provide information, and request information from the public on a matter of City business. Council members and Commissioners may not respond directly to any communication on a Social Media Platform posted, made, or shared by another member of the body on which they serve if it concerns a matter of that body's business. This prohibition applies to commenting, posting emojis or other images, and other digital icons (including clicking on a reactive symbol, such as "thumbs up," "like," or "heart"). F. Electronic Communication by a Quorum of the Council and Commission or a Council and Commission Standing Committee. A majority of the members of the Council or a Commission shall not send or exchange facts about or engage in discussions (including commenting, replying, sharing, reacting or using digital icons), regarding matters of the Council's (for Council members) or their Commission's (for Commissioners) business via E-Communication, including e-mail, Social Media Council and Commission Electronic Communications Policy — Updated July 21, 2021 Page 3 of 5 Platforms or chat rooms, news groups, on-line forums, weblogs, or list -serves (collectively referred to as "Internet forums"). G. Electronic Communications from the Public. The public may electronically communicate with the Council and Commissions through the City's Website at: www.sarato ag ca.us. 1) E-Communication from the public addressed to the City Council will be distributed promptly to each Council member and E-Communication addressed to a Commission will be distributed promptly to each member of the Commission. E-Communication addressed to the Council or a Commission also will be forwarded to the City Clerk. To avoid inadvertent violations of the Brown Act the Mayor, or Mayor's designated representative, in consultation with staff if necessary, will respond on behalf of the Council to E-Communication addressed to the Council with a copy to the City Council. The Commission chair or Commission staff liaison will respond on behalf of the Commission to E- Communication addressed to the Commission with a copy to the Commission. 2) E-Communication from the public addressed to more than a quorum of the City Council or Commission shall be forwarded by the recipients to the City Clerk (for the City Council) or staff liaison for the Commission. These E-Communications will be distributed and responded to in accordance with paragraph G. 1, above. 3) Upon receipt of an E-Communication addressed to less than a quorum of the City Council or Commission, the recipient may: 1) treat it as an individual communication to which he or she may or may not respond; 2) inform the Council or Commission of the communication at a properly noticed meeting; or 3) ask that it be forwarded to the full Council or Commission as part of its information packet for the next available Council or Commission meeting. Such E- Communication may also be forwarded to staff for response as set out in Section G, below. When a Council member or Commissioner responds to individual E- Communication from the public, and desires to forward the response to the Council or Commission, he or she shall forward his or her response and the individual E-Communication to the City Clerk or Commission liaison for inclusion in the Council or Commission's informational packet at the next available Council or Commission meeting. H. City Electronic Communications with the Public. 1) City staff will post official information on upcoming and prior City Council and Commission meetings on the City website in accordance with requirements of the Brown Act. Council and Commission agendas and minutes will be available on the City website. 2) Additionally, the City will share information about City hosted activities and topics of community interest through City communication channels, such as the City website and social media accounts. Information about community events hosted by other Council and Commission Electronic Communications Policy — Updated July 21, 2021 Page 4 of 5 organizations will be shared in accordance with the Community Event Promotion and Sponsorship Policy. Additional information or materials may be posted at the discretion of the City Manager or Manager's designee. I. Use of E-Communication During Meetings. City Council members shall not use E- Communication at any time during a meeting of the City Council at which he or she is in attendance. No Commissioner may use E-Communication at any time during a meeting of the Commission of which he or she is a member at which he or she is in attendance. The foregoing limitation shall not apply to receipt of telephone calls or text messages from family members in the event of an urgent family matter; a Council member or Commissioner wishing to respond to such a message during the meeting shall do so during a recess or shall excuse him or herself from the meeting to place the return call or text in a manner that does not disrupt the meeting. J. City Participation in Internet Forums. The City will not generally answer questions or respond to comments made in Internet forums other than those shared through the City's own accounts. The Mayor or City Council may ask staff to conduct outreach on common topics or questions. If a Council member desires staff to prepare a response to a question or comment received by E-Communication or made in an Internet forum, the Council and Commission member may forward the question or comment to the City Manager and request that staff prepare an appropriate response in a reasonable period of time. If preparation of a response will require significant staff time to research or draft the response, an interim response to the questioner or commenter will be sent as soon as possible acknowledging receipt of the inquiry and informing the sender that a response is being prepared. IV. Specific Procedures A. Retention of E-Mail. The City electronically archives E-communications in accordance with the City's Records Retention schedule. E-communications that constitute preliminary drafts, notes, or intra-agency or interagency memoranda that are not retained by the City in the ordinary course of business are not required to be archived and should be deleted prior to regularly scheduled archiving. The City Clerk and City Attorney are available to assist Council members and Commissioners in determining how to address questions concerning the application of these procedures. B. Public Records Act. City records, whether paper or electronic, are governed by the public disclosure requirements of the Public Records Act. Disclosure may be required regardless of who sends or receives a communication or document. In the event that the City receives a request for disclosure of City records that includes E-Communication, the person responsible for the requested records must use his or her best efforts to preserve all City E-Communication covered by the request until the responsive E- Communications have been identified. Requests for disclosure of any City records applicable to E-Communication or other electronic records of any Council member or Commissioner shall be submitted to the City Clerk. Council and Commission Electronic Communications Policy — Updated July 21, 2021 Page 5 of 5 C. Confidentiality. 1) California law requires that certain information be treated as confidential and not be distributed to others inside or outside the City who do not have authorization to view such information. Council members or Commissioners may occasionally receive confidential electronic information. Some examples of confidential information are: personnel records, internal investigations, information relating to litigation or potential litigation, attorney -client communication, information relating to labor negotiations, or information relating to confidential real estate negotiations. When Council and Commission members receive confidential information, it should be marked "Confidential Information" so that Council and Commission members are alerted to the nature of the information. 2) Confidential information should not be sent or forwarded to individuals or entities not authorized to receive that information and should not be sent or forwarded to City employees not authorized to view such information. 3) Council and Commission members shall exercise caution in sending confidential information by E-Communication as compared to written memoranda, letters or phone calls; because of the ease with which such information can lose confidentiality by inadvertent or intentional diversion or re -transmission by others. 4) The City Attorney should be contacted concerning any questions about whether a communication is confidential. V. Compliance with this Policy: It is the responsibility of every Council member and Commissioner to ensure that he or she is in compliance with this Electronic Communications Policy. Council and Commission Electronic Communications Policy — Updated July 21, 2021 Page 6 of 5