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8.1. SR 05-01-2017Request for Action To Item Number Mayor and City Council 8.1 Agenda Section Meeting Date Prepared by General Business May 1, 2017 Tina Allard, City Clerk Item Description Reviewed by Communications Policy Update Cal Portner, City Administrator Reviewed by Action Requested Acknowledge and accept, by motion, the Communications Policy. Background/Discussion One of the tasks Council approved when reviewing the administrative budgets in summer 2016 was an update to the Communications Policy. Attached is the policy for Council review. Social Media Clarifies instructions to staff on expectations for creating a new social site and the standards that must be followed, such as branding, grammar style, and communications coordinator approvals. Monitoring This is a new section outlining the need to monitor social sites, how to respond to comments, expectations for a response time from the city, and disclaimers required on each site. Social Media for Election/Appointed Officials This is a new section that addresses common questions that arise during election season, outlines the need to be aware of data practices and open meeting laws, responding to the public, and how to deal with mistakes. Financial Impact N/A Attachments  Policy Communications Policy 1 The city strives to openly provide accurate and timely information in a professional manner in accordance with the laws regarding public information, records retention, and data practices. The intent is to ensure all communications accurately reflects factual information and City Council’s positions. This policy provides guidelines for all external city communications including:  Printed materials such as newsletters, articles, and brochures.  Electronic materials such as email, postings to websites, or social media sites.  Media relations such as requests for interviews, news releases, and media inquiries. The city also recognizes employees may sometimes comment on city matters outside of their official roles as an employee of the city. Therefore, this policy provides guidelines for employees when communicating as a private citizen on matters pertaining to city business. Guidelines for Official City Communications General Requests All staff is responsible for communicating routine information to the public in relation to their specific job duties. Requests for private data or information outside the scope of an individual’s job duties should be routed to the appropriate department head or to the data practices authority. Media Requests With the exception of routine events and basic information that is readily available to the public, all requests for interviews or information from the media are to be routed through the city administrator or his/her designee. Media requests include anything intended to be published or viewable to others such as television, radio, newspapers, newsletters, and websites. Responding to Media Requests If the request is regarding information about city personnel it is to be directed to the human resources representative. Other requests such as potential litigation, controversial issues, an opinion on a city matter, or if you are unsure if it is a “routine” question, forward to the city administrator. An appropriate response would be, “I’m sorry, I don’t have the full information regarding that issue. Let me take some basic information and submit your request to the appropriate person who will get back to you as soon as he/she can.” Ask the media representative for the following: 1. Name and organization they are representing 2. Questions 3. Deadline 4. Contact information Communicating on Behalf of the City Only the mayor, city administrator, or his/her designee are authorized to communicate on behalf of the city in interviews, publications, news releases, on social media sites, and related communications. If designated to communicate on behalf of the city:  Employees shall identify themselves as a city representative of the city.  All information must be respectful, professional, truthful, and accurate.  Mistakes: If an error is made, corrections should be sincere and as timely as possible.  Do not engage in speculation.  Do not speak critically about the city or others involved in a matter.  Do not speak on topics you are not designated to speak upon. 2  The fire or police chief will be the spokesperson for emergency situations such as fires, accidents, or other public safety emergencies unless notified by the mayor or city administrator to the contrary.  Personal opinions don’t belong in official city statements. Guidelines for Personal Communications It is important to remember personal communications may reflect on the city, especially when commenting on city business. The following guidelines apply to personal communications including social media, newspaper letters to the editor, reader’s comments in newspapers, and personal endorsements.  Remember that what you write is public and will be for a very long time. It may also be spread to large audiences. Use common sense when using email or social media sites. It is a good idea to refrain from sending or posting information that you would not want your supervisor or other employees to read, or that you would be embarrassed to see in the newspaper.  The city expects its employees to be truthful, courteous, and respectful towards supervisors, co- workers, citizens, customers, and other persons associated with the city. Do not engage in name- calling or personal attacks.  If you publish something related to city business, identify yourself and use a disclaimer such as, “I am an employee of the City of Elk River. However, these are my own opinions and do not represent those of the City of Elk River.”  City resources, working time, or official city positions cannot be used for personal profit or business interests, or to participate in personal political activity. For example, a building inspector shall not use the city logo, email, or working time to promote his/her side business as a plumber.  Personal social media account names or email names should not be tied to the city. For example, ElkRiverCop. Social Media The city has a “page” in Facebook, not a “group.” Facebook pages offer distinct advantages, including greater visibility, customization, and measurability. 1. Pages must adhere to the following standards:  The type of page is “government.”  The city communications coordinator will standardize and provide all site displays to include the city logo and other pertinent information.  Will be based on a template to include city branding and style. The communications coordinator will provide the template.  A social media application shall not be used unless it serves a business purpose, adds to the user experience, comes from a trusted source, and is approved by the city administrator. A year-long strategy plan must be submitted in order to implement a new application. The city wishes to ensure that sanctioned applications are kept to a sustainable number, policies are followed, and branding is consistent.  All passwords must be provided to the communications coordinator. 3  Any new social media applications proposed for city use must be approved by the city administrator, IT Manager, and the appropriate department director. 2. Page visitors shall be notified the intended page purpose is to serve as a public communication tool and all page information and its list of fans are public records subject to the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act. 3. Page visitors shall be informed the city reserves the right to remove any comments that include offensive language. 4. Posted photos or videos of people require permission. Do not post photos that infringe on trademarks, copyrights, etc. Give appropriate photo/video credit. 5. Do not post information affiliatng or advocating the city with/for a political party or candidate. 6. Where possible, posted content should contain links redirecting users to the city’s official website for in-depth information, forms, etc. 7. Postings shall be grammatically correct. 8. The city reserves the right to shut down any social media account due to violations of law or city policies, and/or employee termination. 9. Adhere to areas of your business expertise and provide your perspective on your current activities and those of your industry. 10. Always think before posting; if it causes you to pause or question if it is appropriate, it most likely should not be posted. 11. Be aware that by identifying yourself as a city employee you are creating perceptions about yourself and about the city. Be sure all content associated with you is consistent with your work and the city’s professional standards. Monitoring Successful social media pages require monitoring. Each department utilizing social media tools shall appoint two staff members as administrators responsible for monitoring. Posts shall be preapproved by the assigned monitor. 1. Guidelines for when/how to respond:  If the person has a question Respond with information or direct them to the city website or other resource. You may ask them to contact you offline when appropriate (when it is a private issue, when the issue is one in which there is little or no interest by others, etc.)  If the person has a complaint If inaccurate, politely and promptly correct inaccuracies. For a general complaint, thank them for sharing feedback and provide direction as needed. For a personal matter, reply with a request to address the issue offline and provide your contact information.  If the person leaves a general comment Like “Can’t wait for this class,” no response is required  If the person wants to start debating Take the conversation offline. Do not debate them on the site. It is okay to correct inaccuracies and to provide evidence to support information, but avoid debates. If in doubt on how to respond, contact the communications coordinator for guidance. 2. Accuracy and Timeliness The city shall make every effort to ensure the accuracy and timeliness of posted information barring factors beyond control including, but not limited to, unauthorized modification of data, transmission 4 errors, browser incompatibilities, information, etc. which can affect the quality of displayed information. The city does not guarantee the accuracy of the information provided on its tools and is not liable for reliance on this information. The city’s timeliness with posts and responses to comments may also vary based on staff availability therefore a disclaimer shall be posted on any social media site, stating: This social media page is intended to provide information in a timely manner to a wide audience and not as an in- depth or complete source of information. It is an evolving supplement to the Official City of Elk River website, press releases, and in-person communications. Responses will typically be posted within office hours and within varying parameters of staff availability. For these reasons, staff may not respond to every comment or question posted on the social media site. All responses to comments by city staff shall be accompanied their name and title to reinforce the social aspects of the site and to let residents know they are communicating with a specific employee within the city and not the city as an entity. Staff may set up automatic email notification when someone posts a comment to a social media site. 3. Comments To facilitate two-way communication and broaden how people can connect with the city, comments will be turned on. The following disclaimer shall be posted on all pages allowing comments: Please note comments expressed on the city’s social media tools do not reflect the opinions or positions of the City of Elk River, its employees, or its elected officials. The city reserves the right to remove any comments, questions, or postings containing:  profane language or content  personal attacks, harassments, or threats against any individual or organization  content that promotes, fosters or perpetuates discrimination on the basis of race, creed, color, age, religion, gender, marital status, status with regard to public assistance, national origin, physical or mental disability or sexual orientation  content not topically related to the particular social medium article being commented upon  support for or against any political campaign or ballot measures  copyright infringements or other legal violations  solicitations of commerce  sexual content or links to sexual content  conduct or encouragement of illegal activity  information that may tend to compromise the safety or security of the public or public systems  content that violates a legal ownership interest of any other party The city reserves the right to restrict or remove any content deemed in violation of this social media policy or any applicable law. Often commentators will police themselves; therefore, comments should be removed by the city only as a last resort. All removed comments will be saved in a “removed comments” folder for data practices purposes. When a comment is removed, a note will be posted in its place explaining the violation. Records Retention Department directors shall be responsible for the content, upkeep, and retention of their respective department pages. Social media sites are subject to the General Records Retention Schedule for Minnesota 5 Cities and directors shall ensure all data required to be maintained pursuant to the retention schedule for the required retention period are preserved in a format maintaining the integrity of the original record and is easily accessible. All city social media sites shall comply with City of Elk River policies. Data Practices Non-public or confidential data shall not be posted per the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act. Any department maintaining a social media site is responsible for responding completely and accurately to any public records request on social media. Violations of the Policy and Discipline Employees may be disciplined in accordance with the city’s Personnel Manual for violations of this policy. Social Media for Elected and Appointed Officials Officials shall comply with the following guidelines when using City of Elk River social media sites:  Shall not use official city social media sites for campaigning purposes.  Shall not post comments or links to any content that endorses or opposes political candidates or ballot propositions, including links to an elected official’s campaign site.  Remove all comments posted during an election season by anyone who has filed for office.  Shall be mindful of the risks of electronic communication in relation to the Minnesota Data Practices Act and the Open Meeting Law; two-way communication between officials should be strictly avoided.  Refrain from using social media as a mechanism for conducting official city business other than to informal communications.  Should identify themselves as elected officials of the city if/when making a post and be honest, straightforward, and respectful.  Ensure efforts to be honest don’t result in sharing non-public information related to coworkers, personnel data, medical information, claims or lawsuits, or other non-public or confidential information.  To help prevent errors and liability issues, officials are encouraged to ask the appropriate staff person or department to post official city documents (i.e. an ordinance recently passed by the City Council), rather than summarizing them from memory.  Correct mistakes as soon as made aware of the error. Corrections should be upfront and as timely as possible. When modifying an earlier post, make it clear the posting has been corrected. Consider designating corrections with “Fixed link” or “Fact correction” prior to the correction.  Officials who are contacted by the media on a topic of official city business should follow city communications protocols. 6 City of Elk River Official Internet/Social Media Sites Facebook Accounts Elk River City Government – www.facebook.com/CityofElkRiver Elk River Energy city – www.facebook.com/ERenergycity City of Elk River Fire Department – www.facebook.com/ElkRiverFire City of Elk River Police Department – www.facebook.com/ElkRiverPolice City of Elk River Farmers Market – www.facebook.com/ElkRiverFarmersMarket City of Elk River Parks and Recreation – www.facebook.com/elkriverpr Elk River Activity Center – www.facebook.com/ElkRiverActivityCenter Hillside City Park – www.facebook.com/HillsideCityPark In-Active Account – Pinewood Golf Course – www.facebook./ERPinewood Twitter Accounts Economic Development – www.twitter.com/elkrivered Parks and Recreation – www.twitter.com/elriverpr Environmental Division – www.twitter.com/energycity Emergency Management – www.twitter.com/ElkRiverEM Instagram – Not completely built – In process Emergency Management – www.instagram.com/EREMFD Websites City Website - www.ElkRiverMN.gov Economic Development - www.econdev.elkrivermn.gov/elk-river YouTube City page – www.youtube.com/CityofElkRiver 7