01.02.06 - Electronic Sys & Communication Tools
CITY OF BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA ADMINISTRATIVE POLICY MANUAL CHAPTER: 01 Administration Policy No. 01.02.06 Previous No. 01.03.09 SECTION: 02 Administrative Directive Page 1 of 7 SUBJECT:
06 Electronic Systems and Communication Tools PURPOSE: The purpose of this policy is to establish the proper use of electronic equipment; systems and/or communication tools provided
by the City of Boynton Beach to its employees for the purpose of performing job functions, including communication, information exchange and research. It is not the intent of this policy
to establish any rights of privacy and employees do not have any expectation of privacy for information contained in any communication system located on City premises, or used for City
business through telecommuting from off-site locations. This statement sets forth the City of Boynton Beach policy with regard to access to, review of, and disclosure of messages sent
or received by employees or other authorized users of municipal e-mail, voice mail, facsimile, or or other electronics systems. This policy shall not supercede restrictions set forth
by federal, state, or local public entities to restrict access to or dissemination of communication system messages. Employee violation of these guidelines will result in discipline
actions up to and including dismissal. The City of Boynton Beach reserves the right to amend this policy at any time. New systems users shall read this message policy before logging
into their electronic mail, or before accessing the Internet. SCOPE: This Policy covers all employees and all City of Boynton Beach electronic communications systems at all locations.
DEFINITIONS: Electronic Mail (E-Mail): Electronic correspondence composed and/or sent using municipal electronic mail applications to recipients internal to the City, or to outside recipients
using City gateways for delivery via the Internet. For purposes of this Policy, "transmitting" an e-mail message includes sending, replying to, or forwarding any portion of an e-mail
message created or received to another party via the City e-mail system including City e-mail relayed to and from the City server via an Internet Service Provider (ISP) 1
Internet: A collection of computer networks that spans the globe, connecting government, military, educational and commercial institutions, as well as private citizens to a wide range
of computer services, resources, and information. A set of network conventions and common tools are employed to give the appearance of a single large network, even though the computers
that are linked together use many different hardware and software platforms. Intranet: A contained collection of computers and networks within the City connecting the members and/or
employees of the City to a range of computer services, resources, and information. Extranet: An Extranet is a collaborative network that uses Internet technology to link businesses,
or other entities, with their suppliers, customers, or other businesses or entities that share common goals. An Extranet can be viewed as part of an Intranet that is made accessible
to other entities or that is part of a collaborative effort with other entities. The shared information may may be accessible only to the collaborating parties or, in some cases, may
be public. POLICY: A. E-Mail Systems 1. Use The e-mail system is provided at the expense of the City to assist in carrying out the business of the municipality. The e-mail system permits
authorized users to communicate with each other internally and with selected outside individuals, business, and other service providers that the City, at its sole discretion, decides
should be connected to the system. The City considers the e-mail system to be for business use only. While it is possible that employees may decide to send personal messages, the City
assumes no responsibility for their content or for maintaining their privacy, and municipal employees have no expectation that such privacy will be maintained. Conducting business unrelated
to the City, other than incidental personal traffic, is expressly prohibited. Because of our intent to operate within the law, the City reserves the right to access, review, copy, or
delete all e-mail messages for any purpose and to disclose them to any party (inside or outside of the City) as it deems appropriate. This includes the right to install software that
monitors e-mail and Internet usage. The City, however, bears no responsibility for the content of messages sent or received by its employees. The City does not and will not preview,
edit or approve material on a routine basis in the e-mail system. All messages sent on the e-mail system are attributable solely to the individual users of the e-mail system, and the
City is not a party to them. The City shall not be liable for, assume any legal responsibility for, or bear any costs arising out of e-mail communications flowing in or out of the City
computer system. 2
Should employees make incidental use of the e-mail system (including Internet e-mail) for the purpose of transmitting or receiving personal messages, such messages will be treated no
differently than other messages (i.e., the City reserves the right to access, review, copy, delete, or disclose them for any purpose). Accordingly, authorized users should not use the
e-mail system to send, receive, or store any messages that they wish to keep private. (Incidental use of the e-mail system is defined as occasional, casual, minor, or insignificant use
that does not impact upon an employee’s duties or impede business-use operations.) No e-mail messages or information should be created, sent, or forwarded which may reasonably be deemed
to be intimidating, hostile or offensive in nature, or which is discriminatory on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, disability, or any other
basis that is unlawful under applicable state and federal law. Nor should any obscene, profane, abusive, or offensive language be transmitted. Any violation of this policy is grounds
for disciplinary action up to and including discharge. No e-mail or other electronic communication may be sent which hides the identity of the sender or represents the sender as someone
else. All messages communicated on the City e-mail system should contain the sending employee’s name. The City bears no responsibility for any consequences resulting from any employee
who uses the e-mail system for any fraudulent, or other illicit purpose, or contrary to the provisions of this Policy. Any employees who become aware of misuse of the City e-mail system
must contact the I.T.S. Help Desk immediately. 2. Privileged Communications Some of the messages sent, received, or stored in the e-mail system may be privileged communications between
the City and its attorneys, or other entities. Upon receipt of any such message, do not forward it or its contents to others inside the City without the authorization of all parties.
Never forward such messages or contents to any outsiders. To the extent practicable, all efforts should be made to send such privileged communications in an encrypted form. 3. Viewing
and Protecting E-Mail Messages In order to guard further against dissemination and disclosure of Proprietary Information, employees should exercise caution when accessing their messages
in the presence of others. E-mail windows should not be left open on the screen when the computer is unattended. Users shall not allow any other person to use their name and password
to gain access to an e-mail system. Passwords are required and should be changed regularly. The City reserves the right to impose guidelines requiring mandatory password changes and
encryption measures to provide additional measures of security. 3
4. Storing and Deleting E-Mail Messages The City of Boynton Beach strongly discourages the storage of large numbers of e-mail messages. Retention of messages consumes space on the network
server and/or individual hard disks and can reduce their performance. Accordingly, employees should promptly delete any e-mail messages they send or receive that no longer require action
or are not necessary to an ongoing project. Employees should audit stored e-mail messages regularly and should delete any messages that are no longer needed. The City reserves the right
to establish database management guidelines on memory storage size limits. I.T.S. has implemented the following e-mail guidelines to provide proper security, virus protection and stability
to the city e-mail enterprise system; 1. Users with more than 50-Mb of messages will be issued warning message 2. Users with more than 60-Mb will not be allowed to send messages but
will continue to receive messages until they cleanup and get back below the 60 Mb limitation 3. Users with more than 70-Mb will not be able to send or receive e-mail until cleanup is
done to get back below the 60-Mb limitation. I.T.S. is recommending archival or deletion of e-mail messages if no longer required. Archival information and instruction is provided in
the public folders and the city's Intranet. 5. Copyrighted Information Use of the e-mail system to copy and/or transmit any documents, software or other information protected by the
copyright laws, without proper authorization by the copyright owner, is prohibited. Copyright protection applies to any document, photo, software, or information unless it is specifically
marked as public, not copyrighted, or freeware. In the absence of any specific copyright markings, material or information should be considered copyright protected. The City assumes
no responsibility for reviewing, ascertaining or policing copyrighted material that may be transmitted to or from the e-mail system by employees. 6. E-Mail Etiquette Please bear in mind
that your your e-mail messages may be read by someone other than the addressee, and may even have to be disclosed to outside parties including courts in connection with litigation. In
accordance with the Florida Sunshine Law, and its amendments, e-mail and Internet information (i.e. sites visited) are liable for disclosure with a Freedom of Information request. Accordingly,
please take care to ensure that your messages are courteous, professional, businesslike, and tasteful. B. Voice Mail, Facsimile, & EDI Systems To the extent applicable, all above policy
provisions related to e-mail systems shall apply to any voice mail, facsimile, or EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) system owned by the 4
City. Restrictions on access of these systems by others will only apply where password controlled access is established (i.e.; it is permissible for someone to leave a message in your
voice mailbox, but other persons should not be given password access to your voice mailbox). EDI is defined as any electronic exchange of data, including modem-to-modem transfers. C.
Municipality Internet, Intranet and Extranet Guidelines As with e-mail, the City provides Internet access solely to facilitate the conduct of City business as a public service provider.
Access to the Internet may be limited at the sole discretion of the City. This includes the use of filtering software to bar access to certain Internet addresses. Employees are expected
to use the Internet, Intranet, and Extranet at all times in the manner that benefits the City. The downloading and installation of software programs onto a City computer or onto a City
network server must be approved by the department head/supervisor along with coordination and approval from the I.T.S. department. The City accordingly will not allow its employees to
(1) support the recreational use of the Internet, Intranet and/or Extranet, (2) provide access to news groups or other Internet sources that are not clearly work-related, or (3) provide
assistance to users attempting to do (1) and (2) on their own The following activities on the Internet, Intranet and/or Extranet are specifically prohibited and may result in disciplinary
action up to and including discharge: • Using the Internet, Intranet, or Extranet for personal gain or for commercial activity unrelated to the City. • Sending Privileged Information
or City Restricted Information. • Accessing pornographic sites or sending material that is threatening, intimidating, hostile, offensive, or discriminatory on the basis of race, color,
religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, disability, or any other basis prohibited by applicable law. In addition, the receipt of such material and/or showing such materials
to co-workers is strictly prohibited. • Copying or otherwise converting protected electronic information. • Violating copyright or trademark laws. • Making any unauthorized attempt to
break into another organization’s computer system. • Using the Internet, Intranet or Extranet for any activities not specified here that are in violation of Federal, state, or local
laws. 5
D. Other Data Services The City may establish accounts with dial-up data services and will make these services available to individual employees as necessary. Such services may only
be used by employees who have been granted authorized access so that we are able to manage the security and administrative aspects of the account. Use of data services is limited to
business use only; personal or entertainment use is prohibited. RESPONSIBILITY: The Department Head will be responsible to grant access to City employee by signing the initial request
for Internet access form. The sign form should be sent to the I.T.S. department to be processed. I.T.S. will grant access to the employee after receiving department head signed request.
I.T.S. will request employee to sign this policy before granting final access. Human Resources should provide this policy with new employee orientation. EMPLOYEE E-MAIL, AND OTHER ELECTRONIC
COMMUNICATIONS AGREEMENT I have received a copy of the City of Boynton Beach policy regarding the the use of e-mail, Internet, and other electronic communications. I recognize and understand
that these systems are to be used for conducting City business only. I have read the aforementioned document and agree to follow all policies and procedures that are set forth therein.
I further agree to abide by the standards set forth in the document for the duration of my employment with the City of Boynton Beach. I am aware that violations of this policy may subject
me to disciplinary action, up to and including discharge from employment. I understand that the City of Boynton Beach is able to monitor all communications and records of communications,
including content, on the e-mail, Internet, Intranet, Extranet, voice mail, and other electronic communications systems, and that I have no expectation that communications on these systems
will be kept private or confidential. I hereby consent to the monitoring of all such communications and records of such communications, including content, by the City of Boynton Beach.
DEVELOPED BY: Information Technology Services, Public Affairs & Risk Management Departments. EFFECTIVE DATE: January 29, 2001 Kurt Bressner Kurt Bressner, City Manager 6
EMPLOYEE E-MAIL, AND OTHER ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS AGREEMENT I have received a copy of the City of Boynton Beach policy regarding the use of e-mail, Internet, and other electronic
communications. I recognize and understand that these systems are to be used for conducting City business only. I have read the aforementioned document and agree to follow all policies
and procedures that are set forth therein. I further agree to abide by the standards set forth in the document for the duration of my employment with the City of Boynton Beach. I am
aware that violations of this policy may subject me to disciplinary action, up to and including discharge from employment. I understand that the City of Boynton Beach is able to monitor
all communications and records of communications, including content, on the e-mail, Internet, Intranet, Extranet, voice mail, and other electronic communications systems, and that I
have no expectation that communications on these systems will be kept private or confidential. I hereby consent to the monitoring of all such communications and records of such communications,
including content, by the City of Boynton Beach. Employee Name (Print or type) Employee Signature and Date Department Head or Designate Signature and Date 7