HomeMy Public PortalAbout01-08-2013 resolution electronic distributionELECTED OFFICIALS:
Mark S. Sideris,
Council President
Stephen P. Corbett,
Vice President
John A. Donohue,
Councilor At Large
Susan G. Falkoff,
Councilor At Large
Anthony Palomba,
Councilor At Large
Angeline B. Kounelis,
District A Councilor
Cecilia Lenk,
District B Councilor
Vincent J. Piccirilli, Jr.,
District C Councilor
Kenneth M. Woodland
District D Councilor
Watertown Town Council
Administration Building
149 Main Street
Watertown, MA 02472
Phone: 617-972-6470
Resolution # 2013 -
Resolution on Electronic Communications and Distribution of Documents
within the Town Council and Town Hall
WHEREAS: The Town Council seeks to increase transparency within Town government
by making public records easily available on the Town's website, as well as making it
easier for citizens to contact their elected officials; and
WHEREAS: The operation of Town Government requires significant amounts of data
and documents to be distributed to the Town Council for effective decision -making; and
WHEREAS: Over the last two years, while the Town of Watertown has taken several
steps to institute the electronic delivery of documents, the current method of delivery can
be further improved to reduce paper and labor cost, to improve timeliness of delivery
and the ability to search for specific information, and to insure that all Councilors are
treated equitably in the delivery of materials; and
WHEREAS: Massachusetts General Law Chapter 43 Section 18 Paragraph 2 gives the
city council the authority to establish rules for its proceedings.
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED: That the Town Council of the City known as
the Town of Watertown hereby establishes a formal policy on Electronic
Communications and Distribution of Documents within the Town Council and Town
Hall as follows:
1. All communications and presentations to the Town Council shall be by way of email, to the
"Town Councilors" group email address, which as a group shall include all Councilors' email
addresses, as well as the Council Clerk's.
2. Each Councilor shall be assigned a Town -owned laptop with software in accordance with
Resolution R-2010-31, along with an official email address, for the exclusive use of Town
Council business. This email address shall be the primary means for delivering official
documents to Councilors. Email addresses shall be on the Town's website as an official means
for the public to contact individual Councilors.
3. The Administration shall provide training and technical support to Councilors for using their
assigned laptop. The Town shall provide internet connectivity for Councilors who do not have
an existing internet connection in their home.
4. A printer shall be provided in the Council Office for use by Councilors. Councilors who wish to
print documents at their home may submit printer expenses for reimbursement to the Town
Auditor, to be charged against Councilor's Expenses Account.
5. All documents distributed to the Town Council or posted to the website shall be, to the extent
possible, in their original electronic format, or shall be converted to searchable Portable
Document Format (PDF). Scanning documents to a non -searchable image format shall be
avoided unless electronic versions are not available from the source. The use of hyperlinks is
encouraged for referenced attachments in distributed documents.
6. The Town Manager shall email Miscellaneous Items in a searchable PDF format as noted above,
with individual items embedded as hyperlinks. The Town Manager is encouraged to email
individual items of a timely nature as they are received.
7. The Council Clerk shall post each Council agenda and all approved Council meeting minutes on
Town Council page on the Town website. All documents presented during meetings shall be
stored on the Town website with hyperlinks in the meeting minutes.
8. The Town Manager shall insure that each Board, Commission, and Committee post all agendas
and all approved meeting minutes on their respective pages on the official Town website. All
documents presented during meetings shall be stored on the Town website with hyperlinks in
the meeting minutes.
9. All regulations, policies, guidelines, forms, and other documents published or distributed by
departments for use by the public shall be posted on their respective pages on the official Town
website.
10. Electronic communications and documents shall be subject to applicable law, including but not
limited to the Public Records Law and the Open Meeting Law.
Council Member
I hereby certify that at a regular meeting of the Town Council for which a quorum was
present, the above Resolution was adopted by a vote of _ for, _ against and _ present
on January 8, 2013.
Valerie Papas, Clerk Mark S. Sideris, President