The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink AboutN-905 - City Websites and Social MediaCITY OF PASCO ADMINISTRATIVE ORDERS Administrative Order No. 905 Communications Subject: City Websites and Social Media Initial Effective Date: February 18, 2005 Revised 02/17/ Approved v The following Administrative Order is effective February 17, 2016, and replaces Administrative Order No. 83, dated 2/18/05. I. PURPOSE: The purpose of this policy is to establish guidelines for the procurement, creation and maintenance of internet websites owned or maintained by the City of Pasco (including social media sites). Internet Websites are established on behalf of the City of Pasco and its departments by the Communications Division of the Executive Department. These websites consist of both externally visible sites for use by the public and internal sites for use by elected officials and city employees. These sites contain information regarding programs, services, policies, and objectives of the City of Pasco and the surrounding area as well as links to other governmental and outside agency sites. External city websites are designed to provide convenient access to city related records, events and other resources for residents, visitors, businesses, non-profit organizations, and other public agencies to access their City government. Internal sites are designed to provide elected officials and City employees with access to information, news, links and other content which improves the efficiency with which they perform their jobs. Social Media (defined here as the use of third party hosted online technologies that facilitate social interaction and dialogue) provides alternative ways for the City of Pasco to share information with a broader audience. Social Media includes social networking sites like Facebook, micro-blogging tools such as Twitter and audio-visual networking sites such as YouTube and Instagram. II. DEPARTMENTS AFFECTED: All III. REFERENCES: A. Revised Code of Washington (RCW) Chapter 42.56 (Public Records Act) B. Washington Local Government Common Records Retention Schedule (CORE) 3.2 IV. WEBSITE STANDARDS: A. All websites owned by (or which represent the government of) the City of Pasco: 1. All such websites must present a consistent, professional image of the city, its elected officials, employees, and the services offered. 2. In order to ensure a consistent appearance and public image, all city websites must be procured, maintained and periodically reviewed by the Communications Division of the Executive Department. 3. At its discretion, Communications may provide City departments with the ability to edit and maintain content on city owned websites. 4. Each department that has been given the ability to edit content information shall assign a management -level staff person(s) who shall be responsible for such maintenance. 5. Departments or employees are prohibited from acquiring city owned websites without prior permission from Communications, in consultation with Information Services. B. Links From City Websites: The City websites contain links to outside content which provide information relevant to the residents, elected officials and employees of the City of Pasco. At its sole discretion, Communications may include on city websites, links to outside content of the following nature: 1. Federal, state, local and educational entities. 2. Private organizations if these organizations offer services that complement the information or services offered by the City of Pasco. 3. Non-profit organizations if these organizations offer services that complement the information or services offered by the City of Pasco. 4. News, weather, search engine, mapping or other sites which may improve employee efficiency in performing their duties. The determination of whether to establish links to outside sites organizations is made on a case-by-case basis by the Communications Division. C. Political Content Prohibited: In order to avoid violations of state law, no content shall be placed on any City website which promotes or opposes any candidate for political office, political party, or advocates for or against a particular ballot issue on a local, state, or national level, unless adopted by Resolution of the City Council. V. SOCIAL MEDIA GUIDELINES: A. Creating Department Social Media Sites: 1. Prior to creating a Social Media site, departments should consider the need and value of a department- or program -dedicated site versus relying on the City website to disperse department or program information. Since Social Media sites lose the interest of their audiences when not updated regularly, department Administrative Order No. 905 — City Websites and Social Media Page 2 staff should calculate the time and effort it will take to maintain a site so that visitors (including non-English speakers) continue to find value over time. As a rule of thumb, Social Media sites should be updated at least once per week. Departments must obtain approval from Communications prior to creating a Social Media site. 2. Once approval is received from Communications, the department must use common Social Media site format and guidelines developed by the Communications Program Manager to create the Social Media page in order to ensure appropriate information is posted and to maintain consistency with any other City Social Media sites. 3. The Communications Program Manager shall maintain a list of all City Social Media sites that are operating. Departments must inform the Communications Program Manager if they intend to stop operating their Social Media site. 4. The Department director must appoint a specific staff member(s) to maintain and monitor the Social Media site. Directors are responsible for ensuring their staff follows the procedures set forth in this Social Media Policy. In compliance with section 2, department staff are responsible for regularly posting information, monitoring comments, removing any prohibited content, and insuring content is saved as required under the Public Records Act. 5. A Comment Policy notice must be displayed on all Social Media sites that allow posts, indicating the discussion is moderated and submitted content that violates the Policy will be removed. a. Comment Policy: "We welcome your comments to [social media site]. The purpose of this [page/feed/site] is to present news and updates of public interest from the City of Pasco to its residents, businesses, and visitors. We will accept your online questions, comments, and concerns. Please note that once posted, the City reserves the right to remove submissions that are not considered protected free speech, including but not limited to comments that contain obscene fighting words, malicious harassment, incitement, true threats, or comments that infringe on copyrights and/or trademarks. Please note that user comments expressed on this [page/feed/site] do not reflect the opinions and position of the City of Pasco government, its elected officials, or employees. If you have any questions concerning the operation of this [social media site], please contact the Communications Program Manager at communications @pasco-wa. gov." B. Information Posted on Social Media Sites: 1. City -Posted Information: a. The most appropriate uses of City Social Media sites are: (1) for time - sensitive and emergency information; and (2) as a communications/promotional/marketing tool which increases the City's ability to broadcast its message to the widest possible audience. b. Department moderators must maintain accurate City information on Social Media sites by frequently reviewing and updating it as necessary and appropriate. Administrative Order No. 905 — City Websites and Social Media Page 3 c. A link to the City's website, www.pasco-wa.gov, must be included on all Social Media sites, directing users back to the City of Pasco website for in- depth information on the posted content. d. Elected Officials and other officials and appointed volunteers (e.g., members of the Planning Commission, Code Enforcement Board, Parks Board, etc.) should not communicate on the City's Social Media sites; participating in online discussions may constitute a meeting under the Open Public Meetings Act. 2. Information Posted by Outside Individuals: a. For all City Social Media sites that allow posts, those sites are moderated by City of Pasco staff to hide content posted by others that violates the City's Social Media Comment Policy, and is not considered protected free speech. C. Retention of Content: 1. All content on the City's Social Media sites is subject to the Public Records Act and associated retention schedule(s). 2. In order to ensure appropriate retention of public records, all content on City Social Media sites must be archived by the appropriate software/application as implemented by Information Services. Department staff is responsible for ensuring retention of all content. This includes content (including comments, photos and links) that is removed for violations of the Comment Policy. Administrative Order No. 905 — City Websites and Social Media Page 4