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CITY OF DIXON
<br />City Council, Boards, Commissions and Committees
<br />Electronic Communications Policy
<br />Purpose: Use of electronic media is necessary and useful for City Council, Board, Commission and
<br />Committee members in order to improve communication and efficiently perform their City duties. The
<br />purpose of this policy is to insure the proper use of the City's electronic media and to set out the policy
<br />the City Council and Board, Commission and Committee members will follow when using electronic
<br />media and the City's electronic communication system. This Policy will also insure that use of electronic
<br />media complies with applicable law, including the Public Records Act and Brown Act. This policy is
<br />applicable to all City Council, Board, Commission and Committee members.
<br />II. Definitions:
<br />A. City's Electronic Communication System — City- owned devices or products designed to
<br />electronically process, transmit, or store information such as computers, phones, cell and smart phones,
<br />i -Pads (tablet computers) printers, modems, data files, and e-mail.
<br />B. User — a City Council, Board, Commission or Committee member who uses the City's electronic
<br />communication system,
<br />C. E- Communication.— electronic text or visual communication and attachments distributed via e-mail,
<br />websites, instant messaging, textmessaging, social media such as Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and chat
<br />rooms, or comparable services.
<br />D. Electronic Media — a method for processing or transmitting information in electronic form, including E-
<br />Communication, software programs, applications and the Internet.
<br />Ill. Procedures:
<br />Distribution of City Council Agenda Packets: The distribution of Agenda packets to City Council
<br />members may be in hardcopy or through electronic media: City Council members may also access
<br />hearings and publicdmee meetings. There Electronic
<br />will be access to the currrrentt City Council Agenda on the !Pad —uany
<br />older agendas would remain accessible through the usual location at the City of Dixon website.
<br />Use of E- Communications During Meetings: During City Council; Board, Commission and Committee
<br />meetings that are noticed and open to the public pursuant to the Brown Act, the use of Electronic Media
<br />by members to access .the :internet or to receive and send email or text messages from other members or
<br />from members of the public, is not permitted: This prohibition shall not apply email or text messages
<br />from or to family members, family care givers, or other urgent personal or business matters that do not
<br />relate to City business.
<br />Electronic Communication by a Quorum of the Council and Commission or a Council and
<br />Commission Standing Committee: A majority of the members of the City Council, Board, Commission
<br />or a Committee shall not send or exchange information about, or engage in, discussions regarding City
<br />issues via e- communication, including chat rooms, news groups, on -line forums, weblogs, twitter feeds, or
<br />list -serves (collectively referred to as "Internet forums ").
<br />Public Records Act/ Due Process: Unless a specific statutory exemption applies, City records, whether
<br />paper or electronic, are subject to disclosure to the public pursuant to the California Public Records Act.
<br />The Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution guarantees the right to due process and
<br />applies to quasi-judicial matters such as land use decisions and the denial or revocation of permits and
<br />licenses. Due process requires that quasi-judicial decisions be made based solely upon information that
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