Borough of North Arlington makes every effort
to provide the best available technology to those performing services
for Borough of North Arlington. In this regard, the Borough of North
Arlington has installed, at substantial expense, equipment such as
computers, electronic mail, and voice mail.
This policy also sets forth policies on the
proper use of the computer, voice mail, and electronic mail systems
provided by Borough of North Arlington.
A. Borough of North Arlington property, including computers,
electronic mail and voice mail, should only be used for conducting
municipal business.
B. Personal use of Borough of North Arlington computers
is prohibited and the Borough may, at any time, monitor the use of
said equipment. Borough employees should not expect any privacy with
respect to any information placed in or on Borough of North Arlington's
computers or computer equipment.
C. The use of the electronic mail system may not be used
to solicit for commercial ventures, religious or political causes,
outside organizations, or other non-job-related solicitations. Furthermore,
the electronic mail system is not to be used to create any offensive
or disruptive messages. Among those which are considered offensive
are any messages which contain sexual implications, racial slurs,
gender-specific comments, or any other comments that offensively address
someone's age, sexual orientation, religious or political beliefs,
national origin, or disability. In addition, the electronic mail system
shall not be used to send (upload) or receive (download) copyrighted
materials, trade secrets, proprietary financial information, or similar
materials without prior authorization.
D. Although Borough of North Arlington may provide certain
codes to restrict access to computers, voice mail and electronic mail
to protect these systems against external parties or entities obtaining
unauthorized access, employees should understand that these systems
are intended for business use, and all computer information, voice
mail and electronic mail messages are to be considered as Borough
records.
E. Borough of North Arlington also needs to be able to
respond to proper requests resulting from legal proceedings that call
for electronically stored evidence. Therefore, Borough of North Arlington
must, and does, maintain the right and the ability to enter into any
of these systems and to inspect and review any and all data recorded
in those systems. Because the Borough of North Arlington reserves
the right to obtain access to all voice mail and electronic mail messages
left on or transmitted over these systems, employees should not assume
that such messages are private and confidential or that Borough of
North Arlington or its designated representatives will not have a
need to access and review this information. Individuals using Borough
of North Arlington's business equipment should also have no expectation
that any information stored on their computer, whether the information
is contained on a computer hard drive, computer disks or in any other
manner, will be private.
F. The Borough of North Arlington has the right to but
does not regularly monitor voice mail or electronic mail messages.
The Borough of North Arlington will, however, inspect the contents
of computers, voice mail or electronic mail in the course of an investigation
triggered by indications of unacceptable behavior or as necessary
to locate needed information that is not more readily available by
some other less intrusive means.
G. The contents of computers, voice mail, and electronic
mail, properly obtained for some legitimate business purpose, may
be disclosed by the Borough of North Arlington if necessary within
or outside of Borough of North Arlington.
H. Given the Borough of North Arlington's right to retrieve
and read any electronic mail messages, such messages should be treated
as confidential by other employees and accessed only by the intended
recipient.
I. The Borough of North Arlington Administrator will
review any request for access to the contents of an individual's computer,
voice mail, or electronic mail prior to access being made without
the individual's consent.
Any employee who violates this policy or uses
the electronic communication systems for improper purposes may be
subject to discipline, up to and including termination.