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Home My WebLink Aboutres2012-002 WHATCOM COUNTY COUNCIL AGENDA BILL NO. 2012 - 43 CLEARANCES Initial Date Date Received in Council Office Agenda Date Assigned to: Originator: 1 /17/2012 1 /24/2012 Finance & Council Division Head: Dept. Head: Prosecutor: • 11 • lev Purchasing/Budget: Executive: TITLE OF DOCUMENT: Resolution regarding procedures for retention of Councilmember email ATTACHMENTS: SEPA review required? ( ) Yes ( ) NO Should Clerk schedule a hearing ? ( ) Yes ( ) NO SEPA review completed? ( ) Yes ( ) NO Requested Date: SUMMARY STATEMENT OR LEGAL NOTICE LANGUAGE: (If this item is an ordinance or requires a public hearing, you must provide the language for use in the required public notice. Be specific and cite RCW or WCC as appropriate. Be clear in explaining the intent of the action.) Resolution regarding procedures for retention of Councilmember email COMMITTEE ACTION: COUNCIL ACTION: 1 / 24 / 2012 : Amended and Approved and forwarded 1 / 24 / 2012 : Council Amended substitute and to Council . Approved 7 -0 Res . 2012 - 002 Related County Contract #: Related File Numbers: Ordinance or Resolution Number: Res . 2012 -002 Please Note: Once adopted and signed, ordinances and resolutions are available for viewing and printing on the County 's website at: www. co. whatcont. wa. us/council. Res. 2012 - Email Retention Procedures PROPOSED BY : Consent SPONSORED BY: Consent INTRODUCED : January 24, 2012 RESOLUTION NO , 2012 - 002 ESTABLISHING POLICIES AND PROCEDURES FOR RETENTION OF WHATCOM COUNTY COUNCILMEMBER EMAILS WHEREAS, the Whatcom County Council recognizes that email is a very effective tool for communication ; and WHEREAS, all email created and received by members of the Whatcom County Council in the transaction of the public 's business or relating to the conduct or performance of county government is a form of written communication that must be treated in the same manner as a paper document of the same nature ; and WHEREAS, emails are subject to the laws and regulations governing the retention , disclosure , destruction , and archiving of public records ; and WHEREAS, one of the greatest challenges of effectively managing email is ensuring that it is readily available if needed in the future ; and WHEREAS, to provide a process for the management, retention and storage of email , the County Council wishes to adopt a policy to ensure that every email sent or received in connection with official public business is managed in a way that adheres to legal mandates and proper procedures for retention . NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Whatcom County Council that official policies and procedures for retention of councilmember emails are hereby established as outlined in Exhibit A to this resolution . owi u ► ► ►►►u . $� $I 4. t�i�i%S%,T th day of January , 2012 . J• • • tHATC • •2 AST T • < - o • C . ; WHATCOM COUNTY COUNCIL eft .,, 1 _ Cit N WHATCOM COUNTY, WASHINGTON *hi DI Dgea B•r�b a pler the Council Kathy Kershner, Council Chair :' vN1 N 5 • �. . • . • • • • • • . • ``� • APP � DIi st +Si9RM : . L .. 4 _ 1 - 1L1/ iv Deputy • r • ecutor EXHIBIT A ( RULES FOR RETENTION OF COUNTY COUNCIL EMAILS) PURPOSE These rules are in place to ensure the retention of public records, specifically email , in accordance with state law . EMAIL MANAGEMENT - GENERAL RULES 1 . Members of the Whatcom County Council will utilize county- provided email accounts when conducting county business via e- mail whenever possible . 2 . The use of personal email accounts is highly discouraged . If, for any reason , a councilmember must use a personal account to conduct official county business, that personal account is subject to the Public Records Act . Copies of all emails sent or received must be forwarded to the councilmember's county- provided email account . Councilmembers will notify anyone who communicates to their personal email account that all future emails regarding county business must be sent to their official county email address . 3 . When using an email account, every email message sent or received by a councilmember will be retained in the councilmember's specified email account and cannot be deleted or retracted . All retained council emails and associated metadata will be stored in original format and remain usable, searchable , retrievable , and authentic for the length of the designated retention period . 4 . Councilmembers can access their county email account from a remote location or from a non -county computer that has Internet access using webmail. 5 . Councilmembers are responsible for the security of their email account, including their account password . 6 . Emails between non - county email addresses ( such as citizens , businesses, and other non - county parties) , and councilmember email addresses are public records subject to records retention and public records disclosure laws . A disclosure statement shall be posted on the council 's webpage , alerting interested parties to the fact that email messages sent to or received by councilmembers are public records subject to public disclosure upon request . A similar disclosure statement shall be automatically inserted into all email messages originating from a councilmember or a member of the council 's staff. 7 . The county uses a third party spam filtering system that quarantines messages based on language , content, or potential virus hazard . Email detected by this service as spam or virus infected are quarantined in a separate off- site account for user review before delivery into the county 's email system . Councilmembers should review and clear out their quarantined messages on a regular basis . Please note , while this service is very effective in filtering spam and virus hazards , it cannot guarantee that all spam or viruses will be intercepted . 8 . Councilmembers are individually responsible for the content of every email they send . • 9 . Email exchanges between councilmembers can create an unintended quorum by " serial communication " and violates the Open Public Meetings Act . Councilmembers should avoid email exchanges that ultimately involve or create a quorum of the entire council or any of its committees . If a councilmember wishes to send an informational email to a majority of the council , he or she must make it abundantly clear in the email that the information is being provided for review only and that no response is desired . 10 . Carbon copies ( cc) of emails are public records and are fully subject to the Public Records Act . 11 . The use of blind copying is highly discouraged , including the use of blind copy distribution lists . A blind copy is a public record subject to public disclosure under the Public Records Act . 12 . Personal email should be transmitted via personal email accounts and not from a county- provided email account. 13 . Email should be used cautiously when seeking legal advice or to discuss matters of pending litigation or other " confidential " county business . In general , email is discoverable in litigation , and even deleted email is not necessarily removed from the system . 14 . Councilmembers understand and acknowledge that all email communications, except where otherwise excluded by law, may be subject to public disclosure under the Public Records Act .