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All City employees have a responsibility to communicate accurate and timely information to the <br />public in a professional manner. Requests for private data or information outside of the scope of <br />an individual's job duties should be directed to the appropriate department or to the City Clerk. <br />Any employee who identifies a mistake in reporting should promptly bring it to the attention of <br />the City Administrator or other appropriate staff. Regardless of whether the communication is in <br />the employee's official City role or in a personal capacity, employees must comply with all laws <br />related to trademark, copyright, software use, and other relevant matters. <br />Except for routine events and basic information readily available to the public, all requests for <br />interviews or information from the media are to be routed through the City Administrator. No <br />City employee is authorized to speak on behalf of the City without prior authorization from the <br />City Administrator or the City Administrator's designee. Media requests include anything <br />intended to be published or viewable by others in any form, such as television, radio, <br />newspapers, newsletters, social media postings, and websites. When responding to media <br />requests, employees should follow these steps: <br />1. If the request is for routine or public information (such as a meeting time or agenda), <br />provide the information and notify the City Administrator of the request. <br />2. If the request is regarding information about City personnel, potential litigation, <br />controversial issues, an opinion on a City matter, or if an employee is unsure if the <br />request is "routine", forward the request to the City Administrator. An appropriate <br />response would be, "I'm sorry, I don't have the full information regarding that issue. Let <br />me take some basic information and submit your request to the appropriate person, who <br />will get back to you as soon as possible." Then, ask the media representative for their <br />name, questions, deadline, and contact information. <br />All news releases concerning City personnel will be the responsibility of the City Administrator. <br />When/if the City Administrator authorizes a staff person to communicate on behalf of the City in <br />interviews, publications, news releases, on social media sites, and related communications, <br />employees must: <br />• Identify themselves as representing the City. Account names on social media sites must <br />be clearly connected to the City and approved by the City Administrator. <br />• Be respectful, professional, and truthful when providing information. In most cases, only <br />factual information (not opinions or editorial comments) should be provided. For <br />example: "The City finished street cleaning on 16 streets in the northwest corner of the <br />City this past week," rather than "The City is doing a great job with street cleaning this <br />year!" Corrections must be issued when needed. <br />• Generally, not include personal opinions in official City statements. One exception is <br />communications related to promoting a City service. For example, an employee could <br />post the following on the City's Facebook page: "My family visited Hill Park this <br />weekend and really enjoyed the new band shelter." <br />• Employees who have been approved to use social media sites on behalf of the City <br />should seek assistance from the City Administrator. <br />5 <br />