Borough of North Arlington, NJ Electronic Equipment Policy

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.

Borough of North Arlington property, including computers, electronic mail and voice mail, should only be used for conducting municipal business.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.