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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAGENDA REPORT 2017 1101 CCSA REG ITEM 09B ITEM J.B. CITY OF OO RPAR,CALIFORNIA City CouncP Uieeting MOORPARK CITY COUNCIL of //- /"QoiT AGENDA REPORT ACTI Y: -771a TO: Honorable City Council FROM: Kevin G. Ennis, City Attorney DATE: October 25, 2017 (CC Meeting of 11/1/2017) SUBJECT: Consider Policy on Social Media Use by Members of the City Council and City Commissions BACKGROUND/DISCUSSION At the June 21, 2017 City Council meeting, the City Council received and considered a report on legal restrictions on the use of social media by Members of the City Council. At the conclusion of that presentation, the Council discussed the subject and directed staff and the City Attorney's Office to prepare a draft policy on the subject. At the October 18, 2017 City Council meeting, the City Attorney presented a draft of proposed new Policy 2.20 on social media use by members of the City Council _ and City Commissions. After discussion, the City Council directed staff and the City Attorney's Office to revise the draft Policy to address four (4) groups of issues. The list of issues and the revisions made to address those issues are as follows: (1)Acknowledgment of Posts and "Liking"Posts. A suggestion was made to permit Members to respond to a post by simply acknowledging that the Member has received and reviewed a post even if the Member notices other Members have provided responses on the topic. In response to this suggestion, the Policy has been revised to allow a Member to acknowledge receipt of a post on a site when other Members have already posted on the topic, as long as the acknowledgement is not to a post from another Member of the same body and provided the Member refrains from providing a viewpoint to the post, such as "liking" or"not liking" the post. (2) Referral to staff or public documents. The Policy has been revised to allow a Member to respond to a post by making a referral to staff or a referral to publicly accessible information or documents. 2 Honorable City Council November 1, 2017 Page 2 (3) City staff requests for copies of a Member's posts. The Policy has been clarified to provide that Members are only required to turn over their posts to City staff if those posts are the subject of a request for public records by a member of the public. (4) Forwarding posts to staff. The Policy has been revised to make clear that a Member may forward posts to City staff, or inform City staff of topics and posts, so that City staff may respond to them. In addition to addressing the four issues, staff and the City Attorney's office also changed some of the provisions in the Policy from being merely guidance ("should") to mandatory ("shall"), as appropriate, and depending on the provision. Additional background regarding these proposed policy provisions is more fully explained in the staff reports for the June 21, 2017 and October 18, 2017 meetings and in a confidential memorandum to the City Council dated June 14, 2017. FISCAL IMPACT None at this time. RECOMMENDATION Approve new Policy 2.20 and revise the numbering for the Waste Reduction and Recycled Content Product Procurement Practices Policy from 2.20 to 2.21, and direct staff to incorporate the new Policy 2.20 and the numbering change for Policy 2.21 into the next comprehensive update of the City Council Policies Resolution. Attachment: Proposed New Policy No. 2.20 (with changes from October 18, 2017 draft shown in redline format) • 3 Honorable City Council November 1, 2017 Page 3 Policy 2.20: Social Media Use by Members of the City Council and Commissions 1. This Policy is intended to help members of the City Council and members of City Commissions and Boards address issues related to their use of social media in connection with their activities as public officials of the City while complying with legal requirements and limitations that arise from their membership on the City Council or on a City Commission or Board. 2. The following terms have the following meanings in this Policy: "City Commission" or "Commission" means the City of Moorpark Library Board, Planning Commission, Arts Commission, Parks and Recreation Commission. "City Commission" or "Commission" also means any other commission or board that may be created by ordinance or formal resolution of the City Council of the City of Moorpark from time to time. "Member" means the Mayor, any member of the City Council, and any member of any City Commission. "Posts" or "postings" means information, articles, pictures, videos or any other form of communication posted on a social media site. "Social media" means all forms of user-created content tools such as social networks, blogs, video sharing, pod casts, wikis, message boards, sites, platforms, and online forums — collectively known as 'Web 2.0" or interactive use of the Internet, whether owned or operated by the City, by other public entities, or by private entities. Technologies include but are not limited to: picture and video sharing, wall postings (an area on a social network page where friends and "fans" can post their thoughts, views, or criticisms), email, instant messaging, etc. Familiar platforms include Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Linkedln, Pinterest, NextDoor, Snapchat, Google+, Reddit, Tumblr, Kik, Yik Yak, Flickr, YouTube, Blogger, Yelp and others, and includes all social media as it currently exists or may exist in the future. 3. By adopting this Policy, it is not the City's intention to unnecessarily restrict the ability of a Member to have a personal online presence or mandate what they shall or shall not say. At the same time, this Policy is intended to help guide Members to comply with legal restrictions imposed by California laws that regulate the communications of Members of the City Council and City Commissions. 4 Honorable City Council November 1, 2017 Page 4 4. A quorum of Members of the City Council or a City Commission should-all not discuss or respond to posts on social media sites relating to a topic within the subject matter jurisdiction of the City Council or Commission. To comply with this requirement, Members shouldall follow these guidelines: A. Except as provided in paragraph B below, nNot more than two Members of the same body (City Council or Commission) shouldall post or respond to a post on the same subject within the jurisdiction of that body. If a Member notices that two other Members of the same body have already posted information about a matter of City business before that body, or posted a response to prior postings on that topic, the Member shalleold not provide his or her own post on that same topic or respond with "like" or similar responses that convey a viewpoint about another post or posts on that same site and on the same topic. • AB. Notwithstanding the limitations of Paragraph A, any Member may respond to any post from a person who is not a Member of the same body by merely acknowledging that he or has read it, or by providing basic factual information or a referral to documents if that information has already been provided to the Member at a prior meeting of the body or if the information is publicly available on the City's website or in City Hall. In addition, any Member may respond to a post by providing a referral to the responsible City staff person or persons who may provide information on the subject or by forwarding or otherwise transmitting the post or the contents thereof to City staff for purposes of suggesting a City response to the post. If a Member is asked why only two Members have responded to posts and other Members have not, any Member may post a response that explains that this Policy precludes additional Members from posting on the same topic. &C. When posting a response on social media, Members should be mindful that other Members may read his or her post. For this same reason, posts on the same topic should not be forwarded by individual Members to more than one other Council or Commission Member. GD. When matters are pending before the City Council or before a Commission, Members of that body shallot:ld refrain from sharing viewpoints or facts on social media that have not already been shared at a meeting of that body, and particularly prior to a decision to be made by the City Council or Commission. 5. If a Member uses a personal social media account, or a social media account owned by a third party such as his or her employer, the Member 5 Honorable City Council November 1, 2017 Page 5 may be asked by City staff to provide copies of the Member's social media posts that relate to matters of City business. The Member shall only be required to provide copies of the Member's social media posts to City staff when those posts are sought by a member of the public in a request for public records and only when those posts are within, or potentially within, the scope of the request for public records. When requested by City staff, the Member is required to forward those requested posts to City staff within the time periods specified by City staff. Any questions about the City's policy and practices for responding toee public records requests should be directed to the City Clerk, City Manager or City Attorney. 6. All posts by Members that relate to matters of City business sheuldall, to the extent the Member has the ability to control the retention of their posts, be retained for two (2) years unless otherwise provided in the City's Records Retention Policy. Copies of the Records Retention Policy may be obtained from the City Clerk. 7. Members should avoid sharing facts, opinions, or viewpoints on quasi- judicial matters that are presented to the body on which the Member serves (City Council or Commission) through social media posts or responses to posts before, during or after the public hearing on the matter. A "quasi-judicial" matter is, for example, an application or request for a variance, CUP, or other type of decision in which the City Council or Commission must base its decision on whether the application or pending matter satisfies specific criteria or meets required findings for approval. 8. City-established and managed social media sites sheuldall not be used by Members for campaigning for office, to advocate for or against ballot measures, or for personal purposes. 9. Members sheutclall not use City-sponsored or managed social media sites to conduct activities related to their own businesses. 10. When engaged in personal social media use, Members should adhere to the guidelines and requirements of Policy 2-19, Personal Social Media Use by City of Moorpark ("City") Employees and Employees of City Contractors. 6