HomeMy Public PortalAboutOrdinance 01:09Councilman Presents the following Ordinance Seconded by Councilman
AN ORDINANCE ESTABLISHING A POLICY FOR THE USE OF BOROUGH
COMPUTERS AND OTHER ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT
WHEREAS, the Borough of Carteret (the "Borough") seek to assist employees in
performing their job duties by providing them with the use of expensive electronic
equipment such as computers, electronic mail and voice mail; and
WHEREAS, the Borough wishes to ensure that employees who use Borough business
equipment clearly understand the proper and improper use of said business equipment as
well as access to and disclosure of computer stored information, voice mail messages and
electronic mail messages sent or received by the Borough's employees with the use of the
Borough's equipment.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED by the Mayor and Council of the Borough
of Caneret as follows:
There is hereby established an "employee use of business equipment" policy
which shall read in its entirety as follows:
1. Borough property, including computers, electronic mail and voice mail should
only be used for conducting Borough business.
2. Personal use of Borough computers is prohibited and the Borough may, at any
time, monitor the use of said equipment. The employees are specifically
cautioned that they should not expect any privacy with respect to any
information they place on the Borough's computers or computer equipment.
3. The use of the electronic mail system may not be used to solicit for
commercial ventures, religious or political causes, outside organizations or
other non-job related solicitations.
4. The electronic mail system is not to be used to create any offensive or
disruptive messages. Among those which are considered offensive are any
messages which contain sexual implications, racial slurs, gender-specific
comments, or any other comments that offensively address someone's age,
sexual orientation, religious or political beliefs, national origin, or disability.
5. The electronic mail system shall not be used to send (upload) or receive
(download) copy-righted materials, trade secrets, proprietary financial
information or similar materials without prior authorization.
6. All computer information, voice mail and electronic mail messages, except
personnel information relating to police investigations, and other materials
which are exempted pursuant to statute shall be considered Borough records.
The Borough maintains the right and ability to enter any of the electronic
systems and to inspect and review all data recorded in those systems.
Employees, accordingly, should not assume that such messages are private
and confidential or that the Borough or its designated representatives will not
have a need to access and review this information. Employees using the
Borough's business equipment should also have no expectation that any
information stored on their computer-whether stored on a computer hard
drive, computer disk or in any other manner-will be private.
NO. 01-9
PAGE 2
7. The Borough shall have the right to monitor voice mail or electronic mail
messages from time to time in its sole discretion.
8. The borough will inspect the contents of computers, voice mail or electronic
mail in the course of an investigation, or as necessary to locate needed
information that is not readily available by some other less intrusive means.
9. The contents of computers, voice mail and electronic mail, properly obtained
for some legitimate business purpose, may be disclosed by the Borough if
necessary.
10. Employees' electronic messages should be accessed only by the intended
recipient.
11. The Borough's Business Administrator shall review any request for access to
the contents of an individual's computer, voice mail, or electronic mail prior
to access being made without the employee's consent.
12. This policy shall apply to all Borough employees, officers, officials, agents
and representatives.
13. Any employee who violates this policy shall be subject to discipline up to and
including termination.
BE, IT FURTHER ORDAINED that this Ordinance shall take effect immediately upon
adoption.
BE, 1T FURTHER ORDAINED that copies of this policy shall be provided to each and
every employee of the Borough, all officers, officials and representatives.
DO NOT USE SPACE BELOW THIS LINE
RECORD OF COUNCIL VOTE
COUNCILMAN !
YES NO NV A.B. COUNCILMAN YES NO NV A.B.
F~ ~Z~KAS RIOS
x
QUINONES SANTORO X
REIMAN SOHAYDA
X
X - Indicate Vote AB - Absent NV. Not Voting XOR - Indicates Vote to Overrule Veto
Adopted on first reading of the Council of the Borough of Carteret, N.J., on February 1, 2001
Adopted on second reading after hearing on FEBRUARY 15. 2001
APPROVED BY ~ ..... /~'- )
L/ / / MUNfCI~)AL ~LERK