12.01.21 - City Hall Controlled Access
CITY OF BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA ADMINISTRATIVE POLICY MANUAL CHAPTER: 12 Risk Management Policy No. 12.01.21 SECTION: 01 Risk Management Policies Page: 1 of 3 PURPOSE: 21 City Hall Controlled
Access The purpose is to provide access for employees and facilitate access to visitors while in City Hall and adjacent East Wing. PROCEDURES: 1) Each Department will be responsible
for identifying those employees who are to have frequent access to City Hall and the adjacent East Wing. These employees will be identified as to days and hours for access to these buildings.
2) The Risk Management Department will: a. Collect the list of employees and authorize their access to the buildings. This list will be forwarded to the Police Department for issuing
employee pass cards. New employees will be processed through the Risk Management Department to the Police Department. b. Assist with the training of the Information Desk Staff regarding
appropriate procedures to be followed. 3) The Police Department will be responsible for establishing a database and issuing pass cards to employees. The database will identify employee,
by department, and the days and times he/she has access to the buildings. a. The Department will process requests for documentation of identification of individuals accessing the buildings.
All such requests must be processed through the Risk Management Department to the Police Department. 4) The Facilities Management Department will be responsible for installation, monitoring,
and repairs to the physical security system in the buildings. a. Facilities will install and maintain a “panic alarm” which will be set at various sites and ring through to the Dispatch
Center. The alarm will be easily identifiable so that Dispatch Center can readily identify it and dispatch Police to the alarm site. 5) The Customer Services Division will be responsible
for the daily operations of the Information Desk Staff in monitoring access to the buildings and shall: a. Ensure that the Information Desk is staffed during City Hall operating hours.
b. Designate specific, trained back-up personnel for the Information Desk. c. Greet all visitors in a professional, courteous manner. 1
d. Ask visitors to register by providing a valid driver’s license and signing their name and the department/person they wish to visit in the Front Desk Registry. e. Monitor stairwell
and elevator hallway to redirect visitors to register. 6) For purposes of this policy, visitors are defined into three (3) categories: a. Regular visitors who are citizens wishing to
visit a particular department and persons who have scheduled meetings/appointments with city employees. b. Vendor visitors who are contractual vendors to the city and repairpersons who
are responding to maintenance/service calls. c. Employee visitors who are conducting business in City Hall who have not been issued a permanent proximity card. 7) The following procedure
shall be implemented after a regular visitor has properly registered (refer to Section 5d): a. The Front Desk Staff shall issue a regular visitor badge and contact the department/person
that the visitor wishes to see. b. The department/person will then send a pre-designated employee escort to the front lobby to greet the visitor. c. The employee escort will then take
the visitor into the restricted access area, directly to the department. d. At the end of the visit/meeting, the employee escort will take the visitor back to the front lobby where they
will turn in the regular visitor badge and notify the Front Desk Staff that the visitor is no longer in restricted access areas. e. If at the end of the primary visit/meeting, the visitor
wishes to visit an additional department, then the employee escort must accompany the visitor to the next department. Then the secondary department’s employee escort is responsible for
accompanying the visitor back to the unrestricted lobby area, and informing the Front Desk Staff that the visitor is leaving. f. Under no circumstances is a visitor to be allowed to
proceed unescorted in any restricted access area. It is the responsibility of all city employees to politely question any unidentified, unescorted visitor in restricted access areas
and to escort them to the Information Desk in the front lobby of City Hall. 8) The following steps shall be taken by the Information Desk Staff whenever Visitors refuse to sign in for
access to restricted areas: a. If the visitor refuses to sign in, they will not be allowed access to restricted access areas. b. If the visitor becomes physically abusive or violent
in nature, the Information Desk staff will utilize the “panic alarm” to request Police assistance. (NOTE: Verbal abuse is NOT a reason to call for Police assistance.) a. If a verbally
abusive visitor is requested to leave the building by the Information Desk Staff, and the visitor refuses, staff will telephone to Dispatch to request Police assistance in removing the
verbally abusive 2
3 visitor from the building. Every effort shall be taken by staff to bring problems to a mutually agreeable solution with the visitor. However, if this is not possible, Police assistance
may be requested. b. Information Desk Staff will complete an Incident Report in all instances where a visitor is requested to leave the building or if Police assistance is requested.
This Incident Report will be submitted to the Risk Management Department. 9) Vendor visitors must register at the front desk and relinquish their driver’s license in order to obtain
a proximity card and vendor visitor badge. The front desk must be notified in advance when vendors and repairpersons are to be expected. All vendors and repairpersons must wear, in plain
sight, a photo I.D. badge, issued by their company. If the vendor’s company does not issue photo I.D. badges, then they must purchase a City of Boynton Beach photo I.D. badge from the
Police Department. When their delivery/repairs are complete, they must return to the front desk and and turn in the temporary proximity card to have their driver’s license returned.
10) Employee visitors must register at the front desk. The employee will relinquish their driver’s license and be issued a temporary proximity card and employee visitor badge. When the
employee has completed their business in City Hall, they must return to the front desk and turn in the temporary proximity card to receive back their driver’s license. City Photo Identification
Card shall be worn at all times to identify employee, and distinguish employee from visitors. 11) All driver’s licenses that are left at the front desk after business hours will be taken
to the Police Department front desk where they can be retrieved by employees, vendors and/or repairpersons, upon turning in their proximity card and visitor badge. 12) Proximity cards
lost or broken by employees or family members will be replaced at a cost of $5.00 each to the employee. 13) The Main Entrance doors of City Hall Lobby shall remain open to the public
during normal business hours. 14) The City Commission Chamber doors will be secured unless the Chambers are in use. Effective Date: March 17, 2003 Kurt Bressner Kurt Bressner City Manager