This is
presented as a sample only. It has not been reviewed by
the Town Council
northe Town
Attorney.
Section 22 (new)
Town of Gray
Personnel Policies
Internet, Electronic Communications and Computer
Policy
August, 2005DRAFT
I. Purpose
Electronic communications, Internet and telecommunication access and
computers are resources made available to Town employees to communicate with
each other,
other governmental entities, companies and
individuals for the conduct of business and
the benefit of
the Town of
Gray.This Policy covers elected and appointed
officials as they conduct
the town’s business through electronic
communications that are created or responded to regardless of
the ownership of
the telecommunications device.
II. Policy
The Town of Gray’s computers, ElectronicSystem (e-mail) and internet
connection is designed to facilitate any Town business communication among
employees and other business associates for
messages or memoranda. Since no computer system is completely secure,
the e-mail system’s use to transmit sensitive
materials such as personnel decisions and other
similar information should be done with extreme caution and should be followed
up by written memorandum or personal conversation.
The e-mail system and computers are Town property and intended for Town
business. It must be understood that use of this system and Town computers is a
privilege, which may be limited or removed if
the privilege is abused at any time or for any
reason, at the sole discretion of
the Town of
Gray. The system is not to be used
for personal gain or to support or advocate for non-Town related activities or
business purposes. All data and other
electronic messages within this system are the
property of the Town of
Gray. As such,
the Town management has
the right to inspect
the contents of any publicly owned computer or
any computer used on Town time that is involved in
the conduct of local government business.. E-mail messages have been found to be public records and
may be subject to the Freedom of Access ( AKA Right to Know) laws 1 M.R.S.A. § 401 et. seq, depending on
their content. Public Officials, both elected
and appointed, have a further obligation to
comply with this policy when such communications are part of conducting
the Town’s business, even if completed on
personal computers.
Employees may not intentionally intercept, eavesdrop, record, read, alter, or
receive other persons' e-mail messages without
proper authorization.
The Town of Gray owns and administers
the necessary software and licenses to provide
access to e-mail and Internet services. Employees may not rent, copy or loan
the software, or its documentation. The Town
has invested much time and money to secure its electronic systems from intrusion
and harmful viruses. Therefore, employees and officials may not provide
alternative software to access the system.
Employees and officials may be held responsible for any damages caused by using
unauthorized software or viruses they introduce
into the Town system. All Department Heads are
responsible for the implementation and
adherence of this policy within their
departments.
III. Email, Internet Access and Electronic Communication’s Protocols:
A. General Information on Passwords
While you may have a confidential password, users
should be aware that this does not mean that
the system is for personal confidential
communication, nor does it suggest that e-mail is
the property right of
the employee. The use of
the e-mail system is for Town business.
Passwords should be periodically changed to ensure security of
the e-mail system. Users should not share
their passwords with anyone else,
other than as his or her supervisor may
require. If a password is used, it must be logged in through
the Controller’s Office since access to a
computer during the absence of an employee may
be necessary to conduct the Town’s
business.
B. Internet Use
The Internet provides
the Town with significant access and
dissemination of information to individuals outside of
the Town. The use of
the Internet system for access and
dissemination is intended to serve Town business. Like all e-mail messages,
Internet messages are capable of being forwarded without
the express permission of
the original author. Internet messages are also
routinely passed through routers before they
reach their final destination. A message is
"touched" many times before it gets to its recipient, and
the message author should be aware of this.
Transmission of electronic messages on communications media shall be treated
with the same degree of propriety,
professionalism, and confidentially as written correspondence.However, employees do not have any expectation of privacy to e-mail that
is sent or received and is not considered “confidential.”The Town Manager, or his designee, has
the right to authorize
the viewing of a person’s e-mail.
Employees may use e-mail to communicate with individuals outside Town
government.This use will be
similar to personal use of the telephone in that it cannot interfere with
the execution of
their duties and it may not be for personal
gain or for illegal, disruptive, or unethical activities.
Users
must use caution in the transmission and
dissemination of messages outside of the town
and must comply with this policy and all state and federal laws.
C. Prohibited Uses
The Town's e-mail and Internet systems may be used
only for lawful purposes. When sending e-mail messages, appropriateness and good
judgment should be used. The following are examples (but are not limited to this
list) of Internet and e-mail uses which are prohibited:
Communications
that in any way may be construed by
others as disruptive, offensive, abusive,
or threatening.
Communications
of sexually explicit images or messages or that constitute child
pornography.
Communications
that contain ethnic slurs, racial
epithets, or anything that may be
construed as harassment or disparagement of
others based on race, national origin,
sex, age, disability or religious beliefs.
Solicitation
for commercial ventures, religious or political causes, outside
organizations, or other non-job-related
solicitations.
Using
e-mail to send chain letters, solicitations for private gain, or any
information in violation of this policy.
Access
to Internet resources, including web sites and news groups, that are inappropriate in a business setting.
Communications
that encourage conduct that would constitute a criminal offense or give
rise to civil liability.
Knowingly
transmitting electronic data that is corrupted, contains virus’s or
other unwanted materials such as “spam”
or containing programming to interrupt
the receiver’s computer system may be
viewed as a criminal offense or give rise to a civil liability on
the part of
the sender.
Any
other use that may compromise
the integrity of
the Town of
Gray and its business in any
way.
D. Retention of E-Mail
Generally, e-mail messages are
another form of communications while conducting
the Town’s business.As such it will be considered part of
the public’s record and may be subject to
reproduction under the State’s Freedom of
Access Laws and should be retained appropriately on
the computer or a hard copy file. However,
depending on the content of
the e-mail message, some may be routinely
discarded.These include but are
not limited to spam, unsolicited advertisements and
the like. Emails are similar to printed
communication and should be written with the
same care indicated above. Each department head is responsible for assuring that
each employee creating electronic messages during
their employment complies with this policy.
However, employees should be aware that when
they have deleted a message from
their workstation mailbox, it may not have been
deleted from the central email system. The
message may be residing in the recipient's
mailbox or forwarded to other recipients.
Furthermore,
the message may be stored on
the computer's back-up system for an indefinite
period. Note that e-mail has been classified as "public" documents, i.e.
available to the media. Keep that in mind when
you create or store e-mail.
Elected and appointed officials who use
their personal computers for electronic
communications of the Town’s business fall
under this same policy and protocols.
E. Response to Requests under
the Freedom of Access Laws
Electronic Communications (E-mail messages) have been found to be public
records and may be subject to the Freedom of
Access ( AKA Right to Know) laws 1 M.R.S.A. § 401 et.
seq, depending on
their content. Employees and Public Officials,
both elected and appointed, have a further
obligation to comply with this policy when such communications are part of
conducting the Town’s business, even if
completed on personal computers.When a request under this law or the
federal equivalent, the Right to Know Law is
received by the Town through its employees or
public officials, the following guidelines
shall be followed:
E.1Requests made to
the Town under
the Freedom of Access Laws regarding emails
shall be coordinated by the Town Manager.
A. When a request for electronic communications is received by any
elected or appointed official, the request
should be forwarded to the Town Manager who
will review the request in
the full context of
the Freedom of Access Laws. The request must be
specific enough to determine which documents or
the period of time within which
the documents may have been created. Requests
for information that are so broad and general will require
the Manager to contact
the requestor to discern
the information needed.The Manager will estimate
the cost of reproducing such documents and
notify the requestor as soon as reasonable and
before any documents are developed or distributed.
B. The Manager will request such electronic
communications that are the subject of
the request be forwarded to
the Manager’s office for collection along with
any other documents related to
the request and prepare
them for distribution.
C. The Manager shall report all requests and
their compliance to
the Town Council.
E.2Notwithstandingthe above, it is
the intent of
the Town of
Gray to fully comply with and meet
its obligations under the State of Maine
Freedom of Access Law and the Federal Right to
Know Law.
F. Applicability to Employees, Part-time Employees, Contractors, and
other Elected and Appointed Officials
This Internet, electronic communications and
computer policy applies to all employees full time and part time, volunteers,
contractors and elected and appointed officials and
other individuals who are provided access to
the Town's system. Third parties should only be
provided access to the Town’s electronic system
as necessary for their business purpose with
the Town, and only if
they abide by all applicable rules.
G. Employee Termination, Leave of Absence, Vacation, and
Other
Employees who leave employment with
the Town of
Gray have no right to
the contents of
their e-mail messages and are not allowed
access to the e-mail system. Supervisors or
management may access an employee's e-mail if employees are on leave of absence,
vacation, sick leave or otherwise absent and it
is necessary for the Town's business
purposes.
H. Penalties
The misuse of the Internet or e-mail
privileges may be considered sufficient cause for discipline, up to and
including discharge of employment, in accordance with
the Town of
Gray’s Personnel Policy and/or
other applicable rules or laws. In
addition, in the event of suspected,
alleged or actual illegal activity, the
Town may notify or cooperate with applicable law enforcement authorities for
potential civil or criminal investigation or
prosecution.
IV. Acceptance
The Town will require employees to read and accept
the terms of this policy before making
electronic systems available.
Reviewed and accepted by ______________________________________ on this
date_____________________.
The above policy shall be incorporated into
the Town’s Personnel Policies at
the time of adoption as Section
22.