Ownership of Computer Information
Bridgewater’s systems and all business-related information on them are the property of the Town of Bridgewater. All business-related information and messages that are created, sent, received, accessed, or stored on these systems constitute Town records.
Access
E-mail and Internet access is a tool for business and professional use. The Selectmen believe that town e-mail and Internet access provides another tool for communication among employees/temps, the general public and with each other. The Town’s systems are provided at taxpayer expense and are to be used primarily to conduct Town business, but personal use is permitted within the following guidelines:
- All personal e-mailing and Internet “surfing” must be restricted to non-working hours; i.e., before and after work and during lunch hours. Please remember that our Internet connection is of limited size and speed, and unproductive usage limits the download and upload rates of other users.
- Employees/temps may not use public funds or other financial resources to pay subscription fees or access charges for personal Internet and World Wide Web services unless prior written authorization is obtained.
- Employees/temps may not use the Town’s systems for jokes; political causes or activities; football pools, or other sorts of gambling; religious activities; mailing and distribution lists for non-business purposes; or solicitations or advertisements for non-business purposes.
- Employees/temps may not use the Town’s systems to post information, opinion, or comments to Internet discussion groups and other such forums without authorization from the Board of Selectmen.
E-mail and Internet Software
Currently, the software to be used for access and e-mailing is Microsoft Explorer and Outlook. This package provides a Web-browser, an e-mail program, and other useful business communication tools. Users can obtain detailed instructions for the program from the System/Network Administrator or through the program’s detailed help menus. Any other software, including “Plug-ins,” (external add-on programs for Internet browsers) must be cleared with the System/Network Administrator before being installed. Many Plug-ins, especially
RealAudio™ and Shockwave™, can hog network bandwidth and slow the entire connection.
Remote Access
E-mail and the Internet may be accessed from users’ desktops in all offices. In addition, arrangements may be made to access e-mail and our network servers from remote locations. All remote access must be cleared through the System/Network Administrator. The Administrator will assign applicable passwords and instructions for off-site access, as well as any necessary software.
Appropriate Uses
It is important to maintain appropriate corporate and social behavior with regard to the Town’s e-mail and Internet access. Communications on the Town’s systems should not contain content that a reasonable person would consider to be defamatory, offensive, harassing, disruptive, or derogatory, including but not limited to sexual comments or images, racial or ethnic slurs, or other comments or images that would offend someone on the basis of race, gender, national origin, age, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, religion, or political affinity. Employees/temps should use professional and business-like language used in communications sent or forwarded by them using the Town’s systems or in the course of their employment. Any inappropriate language will constitute a violation of this Policy and is subject to disciplinary action.
Employees/temps may not use the Town’s systems to:
- upload, download, or otherwise transmit copyrighted, trademarked, or patented material; trade secrets; or other confidential, private, or proprietary information or materials without the Selectmen’s authorization.
- upload, download, or otherwise transmit any illegal information or materials.
- upload, download, access, create, distribute, or otherwise transmit sexually explicit materials or participate in the viewing of such materials.
- gain unauthorized access to remote computers or other systems (through the Internet or otherwise) or to damage, alter, or disrupt such computers or systems in any way (nor may employees/temps--without authorization--use someone else’s code or password or disclose anyone’s code or password, including their own, to unauthorized persons).
- enable unauthorized third parties to have access to or use the Town’s systems, or otherwise jeopardize the security of the Town’s systems.
- engage in any other inappropriate or illegal activities.
Employees/temps may not disseminate their Town e-mail address for non-business reasons or to receive non-business-related e-mail. Employees/temps may not represent their personal views as representing those of the Town of Bridgewater.
E-mail
E-mail usage must also strictly follow the guidelines stated above in APPROPRIATE USES. It is important to maintain acceptable corporate behavior in regard to all e-mail, newsgroup postings, mailing lists, and chat sessions, and e-mails should be regarded in the same fashion as company memos, letters, and other correspondences. Mailing lists are an effective tool for mass communication among colleagues and clients, and membership in appropriate lists is encouraged. However, users may not subscribe to personal mailing lists, including daily humor lists, college clubs, etc. Please notify the System/Network Administrator upon subscribing to any lists. Procedures on how to subscribe to and set up business mailing lists can be obtained from the Administrator.
Users should be aware that e-mail is a legally binding form of communication, and the same care should be taken when composing e-mail as when composing business memos or letters.
A set of guidelines detailing e-mail and Newsgroup Etiquette (Netiquette) can be found at
http://www.cybernothing.org/cno/docs/rfc1855.html.
Privacy
Although employees/temps are expected to use passwords to access some of the Town’s systems, communications on the Town’s systems are not private and security cannot be guaranteed. The Town does, however, recognize that employees/temps have a reasonable expectation of privacy in their personal communications on the Town’s systems, so long as the Town (a) has no reason to believe that the employee/temp is abusing that privilege; (b) has no business reason to review personal communications; or (c) is not required by law to access such communications.
When surfing the Internet and the World Wide Web, employees/temps should remember that all connections and sites visited may be monitored and recorded. Employees/temps should assume that any communications that they create, send, receive, or store on the Town’s systems may be read or heard by someone other than the intended recipient. Accordingly, employees/temps should not send highly confidential or sensitive information via e-mail, the Internet, or the World Wide Web.
Monitoring
The Town will not routinely monitor messages on Town systems, but the Town does reserve the right to monitor, access, retrieve, read, and disclose such communications in particular circumstances, including but not limited to any one or more of the following circumstances:
- If an administrator needs to inspect the contents of messages to obtain substantive information that is not more readily available by some other means.
- If required by law, by legal duties to third parties, or in order to protect its own interests when the Town has a reasonable suspicion that an employee/temp has committed, or is committing, a crime that the Town, either directly or indirectly, could be liable for.
- If the employee/temp in question is unavailable – ill, on vacation or leave, no longer working for the Town – and time is of the essence.
- If an employee/temp leaves the Town, the administrator reserves the right to keep an employee’s/temp’s e-mail address active for a reasonable period of time following his/her departure to ensure that important business communications reach the appropriate staff. The administrator will review such communications and send any personal communications to an e-mail address designated by the former employee/temp.
- If the Town has a reasonable suspicion that an employee/temp has engaged, or is about to engage, in inappropriate conduct on any of the Town’s systems.
The Town reserves the right to monitor the time an employee/temp spends on the World Wide Web and/or record connections to Web sites.
The Board of Selectmen has authorized the System/Network Administrator and/or Computer Committee members to access all of the Town’s systems to perform system maintenance and support on a regular basis. Accordingly, the System/Network Administrator and/or Computer Committee members have access to all information contained in the Town’s systems, except for police records or other records that are not protected by the Freedom of Information Act.
For purposes of this policy, “monitoring” may include, among other things, reading email messages and inspecting any other computer system files or information.
Security
Employees/temps should be aware of trademark, copyright, license, and compatibility issues related to the installation of any software or hardware. Before any software or hardware may be used on any of the Town’s systems, it must be tested and its installation coordinated with the System/Network Administrator. Employees/temps are not permitted to make copies of software without authorization and proper registration of that copy. Use or distribution of all licensed software or all licensed copies of software outside the scope of their licenses is not only against this Policy but also illegal.
Currently, our computer systems are protected from outside e-mail and the Internet with a series of defense systems. However, users can still let in viruses and intruders. Please scan all downloaded files and files/disks received from outside the Town for viruses with the McAfee virus scan program installed on the Town’s PCs. Please refrain from downloading any unnecessary files. Employees/temps must immediately report any viruses, tampering, or other system breaches to the System/Network Administrator.
Also, please note that e-mails promising a donation for every message sent to a specified address is often distributed to aid in crashing a company e-mail server. Such messages should be ignored. E-mail messages warning “Do not open e-mails containing the subject … it contains the virus …” are also viruses themselves, created to slow e-mail servers and connections. A list of suspect e-mail messages will be published for Town system users.
All e-mail is password-protected. Please remember to change any assigned passwords frequently, at least once every 60 days.
Miscellaneous
Record Retention
The Town’s Record Retention Policy will apply to all business-related e-mail and Internet communications. As with paper documents created and/or received by an employee/temp, it is each employee’s/temp’s responsibility to ensure that those communications that should be retained or deleted, in accordance with the Record Retention Policy, are in fact retained or deleted.
Authorization
Whenever in this Policy the employee/temp is required to obtain authorization or consent, and the person from whom consent or authorization should be obtained is not specified, permission for that specific activity must be given by the System Administrator.
Selling and Purchasing
The Town’s standard purchase-and-sale policies apply to all purchase-and-sale-related activities conducted via Town systems. The Town is not liable for any personal purchase-and-sale-related activities of any employee/temp.
