Borough of Glen Rock, NJ Personnel Policies

The prohibitions set forth in these antinepotism regulations shall apply to all full-time, part-time, temporary and seasonal positions of the Borough of Glen Rock. The prohibitions shall not apply to part-time summer help.

Subject to the exception in Subsection C(2) below, this section and the prohibition against certain hiring contained herein shall be applied prospectively only from the effective date of its enactment and shall not in any way be construed to prohibit or make unlawful any current employment relationship or situation or the hiring or promotion of any person currently employed by the Borough of Glen Rock as of the effective date of this section which may technically be in violation of the terms hereof but for its prospective application. For purposes of interpreting this exception, persons appointed to positions of employment with the Township for a set term shall be considered current employees notwithstanding the fact that the then term may have ended. Such persons holding positions of employment with the Borough under a set term may be hired to any position in the Township, rehired, reappointed or promoted, as may be the case, without violating this section.

Definitions. As used in this section:

CONTRACTORS

Contractors, independent contractors, subcontractors, vendors, professionals appointed pursuant to the Fair and Open Process or the Non-Fair and Open Process or person, persons or business working for the Borough whose employment is limited in scope or duration to a specific project with the Borough and subject to either a bid proposal or a solicitation of quotes. (Examples would include, but not be limited to, road projects; construction projects; projects). Employment with contractors shall be considered for the purpose of this section as employment with the Borough.

DEPARTMENT HEAD

Those individuals who hold such positions in accordance with the Borough Code of the Borough of Glen Rock or as described in the laws of the State of New Jersey.

ELECTED OFFICIAL

Persons holding the position of either Mayor or Council member of the Borough of Glen Rock.

RELATIVE

A spouse, natural or adopted child, parent, or sibling.

SUPERVISOR

Any employee of the Borough of Glen Rock having supervisory duties and powers over another employee or employees within the respective Borough of Glen Rock.

TEMPORARY EMPLOYMENT

Any employment which is not full-time, regular part-time, or seasonal employment.

Restrictions on hiring, supervision and promotions of employees. The following restrictions shall apply to the hiring and promotion of employees to employment positions for the Borough of Glen Rock:

Elected officials. No elected official of the Borough of Glen Rock shall be considered for employment or hired to a position of employment with the Borough of Glen Rock either during his or her term of office or within three years after the expiration of the term. No elected official shall serve as Council liaison to any department that employs any relative of that elected official.

Relative of elected officials. No person who is a relative (as defined herein) of any elected official of the Borough of Glen Rock shall be considered for employment as an employee of the Borough. This shall not restrict nor prohibit the continued employment of individuals to a position or positions with the Borough where a relative of an employee is elected as Mayor or a Councilmember after the date of the employee's start of employment with the Borough.

Promotion of existing employees. Notwithstanding the prospective applications as to the remainder of this section as applied above, no elected official may participate in the promotion process or hiring process in the department of any existing employee who is a relative of the elected official as the case may be. The elected official shall abstain from participation in such personnel action as it applies to such relative.

Appointments. No relative of an elected official of the Borough of Glen Rock shall be appointed to the position of any Borough professional who receives compensation or any Borough board or commission which has more than an advisory role and/or one in which the members receive compensation.

Department heads. No person who is a relative (as defined herein) of any department head of the Borough of Glen Rock shall be considered for employment as an employee of the Borough. This shall not restrict nor prohibit the continued employment of individuals to a position or positions with the Borough where a relative of a department head is hired before the date of this section.

Purpose. This policy is not for the purpose of depriving any citizen of an equal change for employment with the Borough but is solely intended to eliminate the potential for preferential treatment of the relatives of the members of the governing body and/or any department head.

Current employees. Except as may be otherwise expressly provided for herein, this section shall not affect the employment of any present Borough employees and/or any existing contractual obligations with employees by the Borough of Glen Rock.

Article II Social Media and Public Outreach Policy

[Added 2-27-2019 by Ord. No. 1797]

§ 36-4 Purpose.

This policy sets forth guidelines for the establishment and use by the Borough of Glen Rock ("the Borough") of its social media sites and public outreach tools (Facebook, Vimeo, Twitter, Instagram, website, electronic sign, email blast, public access TV and any future approved media - hereinafter collectively "social media") to address the fast-changing landscape of the internet and the way residents communicate and obtain information online. In the interest of transparency and effective communication, the Borough has an overriding interest and expectation in deciding what is "spoken" on its behalf on social media sites and what information gets disseminated through its public outreach tools.

The purpose of this social media and Public Outreach policy is to establish enforceable rules for the use of social media by Borough officers and employees when engaged in Borough business. Social media and public outreach tools at this time refers to Facebook, Vimeo, Twitter, Instagram, website, electronic sign, email blast, NIXLE, Reverse 911 and public access TV and any other communication whether or not such communication is open to response or comment. Rules are necessary to assure that communications made on behalf of the Borough are properly authorized and in correct form; that communications to the municipality by means of social media which can be viewed by the public are appropriate and pertinent; that all communications to the municipality are related to the posted municipal information; and most importantly that the sender is clearly and fully informed that a message received by means of social media is not a substitute for required reporting procedures.

For purposes of this policy, "social media" is understood to be content created by individuals, using accessible, expandable, and upgradable publishing technologies, through and on the internet. Examples of social media include Facebook, Vimeo, Twitter and Instagram. "Public outreach tools" is understood to be content created by individuals and published to the website, electronic sign, email blast, NIXLE, Reverse 911 and public access TV. For purposes of this policy, "comments" include information, articles, and pictures and any other written or communicated words or phrases.

This policy shall apply to all Municipal agencies and departments as well as any affiliated government or Glen Rock sponsored clubs or organizations, and organizations hosting an event for a nonprofit organization in Glen Rock or official and/or commission or council permitted by the Borough to post on Borough social media sites and public outreach tools.

Public social media set up by Borough and elected officials where they identify themselves as Borough elected officials can only be administered by the elected official using their official Borough email address. This site will be subject to the same rules and regulations below.

The Borough Clerk will coordinate the dissemination of information from these sites per OPRA rules.

This policy does not apply to individuals who post as individuals and not on behalf of the Borough or a Borough entity.

§ 36-5 General employee policy.

Personal use.

All Borough employees including elected officials ("Borough employees") may have personal social media accounts. These accounts should remain personal in nature and be used to share personal opinions or non-work-related information. Following this principle helps ensure a distinction between sharing personal and Borough views.

Borough employees must never use their Borough email account or password in conjunction with a personal social media site. They may use it in conjunction with a Borough-related social media site which then will subject those posts to OPRA rules and regulations.

The following guidance is for Borough employees who decide to have a personal social media site or who decide to comment on posts about official Borough business:

(a)

State your name and, if relevant, role, when discussing Borough business;

(b)

Use a disclaimer such as "The postings on this site are my own and do not reflect or represent the opinions of the agency for which I work." Example: "I am a council member of the Borough of Glen Rock; the following comments do not reflect the Borough ......."

Professional use.

All official Borough-related communications through social media outlets should remain professional in nature and should always be conducted in accordance with the Borough's Communications Policy, practices and expectations. Employees must not use official Borough social media for political purposes, to conduct private commercial transactions, or to engage in private business activities.

Borough employees should be mindful that inappropriate usage of official Borough social media sites can be grounds for disciplinary action. If social media sites are used for Borough business, the entire Borough site, regardless of any personal views, is subject to best practices guidelines and standards.

Only individuals authorized by the Borough may publish content to the Borough website and social media sites.

General policy. The objective of the use of social media and public outreach tools by the Borough or its departments is to improve communication with residents, specifically to expand and facilitate the dissemination of information from the Borough to its residents, taxpayers and the general public. This is not the primary method of communicating with the Borough or residents.

No Borough social media site shall be established without prior approval of the Borough Council. The following social media sites and Public Outreach Tools are approved under the direction of the Borough Administrator and his/her designee: Facebook, Vimeo, Twitter, Instagram, website, electronic sign, email blast, NIXLE, Reverse 911 and public access TV. The Borough social media sites and public outreach tools shall be administered by the Borough Administrator or his/her designee. The Administrator or his/her designee shall designate a representative from any Borough department or organization to administer their own social medial in accordance with this policy. The Borough social media sites shall clearly set forth that they are maintained by the Borough and that they follow this Social Media Policy.

Wherever possible, the Borough social media sites and public outreach tools should link back to the official Borough website for forms, documents, online services and other information necessary to conduct business within the Borough.

The Borough social media sites are not to be used for making any official communications to the Borough, for example, reporting crimes or misconduct, reporting dangerous conditions, requesting an inspection, giving notice required by any statute, by ordinance or regulations such as but not limited to notices of claim. Prominent notice of this subsection shall be displayed on every Borough social media site, along with the appropriate contact information for submitting official communications.

This Social Media Policy shall be posted on the Borough website and all Borough social media sites and public outreach tools.

The Borough Communications Coordinator and/or his/her designee shall monitor Borough social media sites and public outreach tools to ensure adherence to both this Social Media and Public Outreach Policy and the interest and goals of the Borough. The Borough has the right and will restrict or remove any content that is deemed in violation of this policy or any applicable law. Any content removed based on these guidelines will be retained by the Borough Communications Coordinator and/or his/her designee pursuant to the applicable Borough retention policy, including the time, date and identity of the poster, when available and sent to the Borough Clerk.

These guidelines must be displayed to users or made available by hyperlink.

The Borough will approach the use of social media tools as consistently as possible Borough-wide.

(8)

The Borough website at www.glenrocknj.net will remain the Borough's primary and predominant internet presence.

(9)

The Borough social media sites and this policy are subject to all applicable federal and NJ laws and regulations, as well as applicable record retention requirements.

(10)

Employees and volunteers representing the Borough's government via its social media sites shall conduct themselves at all times as a representative of the Borough and in accordance with all its policies especially the Borough of Glen Rock social media Policy for employee behavior in the Borough of Glen Rock JIF Personnel Manual.

(11)

This Social Media and Public Outreach Policy may be revised at any time by approval of the Borough Council.

(12)

This policy governs all social media and public outreach Tools used by or on behalf of the Borough and/or its departments.

(13)

The Borough shall have a single municipal presence on social media approved for use, and a Borough Police Facebook page, a Borough Fire Department Facebook page, a Borough Volunteer Ambulance Corps Facebook page and a Borough Office of Emergency Management Facebook page. No other social media sites are authorized. Other Borough sponsored groups who have a social media presence should look to this policy for direction.

(14)

All Borough presence and activity on social media are an integral part of the Borough's information networks and must comply with all rules and policies governing the Borough's computers and electronic media, including but not limited to the applicable JIF Municipal internet access and use guidelines.

(15)

All Borough use of social media is responsible for complying with applicable federal, state, and county laws, regulations, and policies. This includes adherence to established laws and policies regarding copyright, records retention, Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), Open Public Record Act (OPRA), First Amendment, privacy laws, sunshine laws, and information security policies (if applicable) established by the Municipality.

(16)

All Municipal policies are applicable to interactions on social media sites when acting in an official capacity and representing the Municipality.

(17)

Social media is run by a third party separate from the Borough and social media sites occasionally become inoperable. The Borough reserves the right to disable its social media accounts either temporarily or permanently at any time. There is no guarantee of "uptime."

Comment policy.

As a public entity the Borough must abide by certain standards to serve all its constituents in a civil and unbiased manner.

The intended purpose behind establishing the Borough social media sites and its public outreach tools is to disseminate information from the Borough about the Borough to its residents, employees and visitors.

A comment posted by a member of the public on any Borough social media site is the opinion of the commentator or poster only, and publication of a comment does not imply endorsement of, or agreement by, the Borough, nor do such comments necessarily reflect the opinions or policies of the Borough.

Any attempt to hack of otherwise compromise the Borough's internet or social media sites will be reported to law enforcement and the perpetrator will be denied access to the sites.

All comments posted to any Borough sites are bound by any applicable terms and conditions of Facebook's statement of rights and responsibilities, located at http://www.facebook.com/terms.php, and the Borough reserves the right to report any violation of Facebook's statement of rights and responsibilities to Facebook with the intent of Facebook taking appropriate and reasonable responsible action. All Borough policies are applicable to interactions on social media sites when acting in an official capacity and representing the Borough.

All comments posted to any Borough sites are bound by any applicable terms and conditions of Twitter's terms of service, located at https://twitter.com/tos. and the Borough reserves the right to report any violation of Twitter's terms of service to Twitter with the intent of Twitter taking appropriate and reasonable responsible action. All Borough policies are applicable to interactions on social media sites when acting in an official capacity and representing the Borough.

All comments posted to any Borough sites are bound by any applicable terms and conditions of Vimeo's terms of service, located at https://vimeo.com/terms and the Borough reserves the right to report any violation of Vimeo's terms of service to Vimeo with the intent of Vimeo taking appropriate and reasonable responsible action. All Borough policies are applicable to interactions on social media sites when acting in an official capacity and representing the Borough.

(8)

All comments posted to any Borough sites are bound by any applicable terms and conditions of Instagram's terms of service, located at https://help.instagram.com/581066165581870 and the Borough reserves the right to report any violation of Instagram's terms of service to Instagram with the intent of Instagram taking appropriate and reasonable responsible action. All Borough policies are applicable to interactions on social media sites when acting in an official capacity and representing the Borough.

(9)

All comments posted to any future social media medium or site shall be bound by such site's applicable terms and conditions regarding such posting or commenting.

(10)

Persons posting prohibited content are subject to being barred from posting comments on Borough social media. If a known user is barred, that information will be subject to retention and archiving requirements.

§ 36-6 Prohibited content.

Comments containing any of the following inappropriate forms of content shall not be permitted on the Borough's social media sites or public outreach tools and are subject to removal and/or restriction by the Borough Administrator, Borough Communications Director and/or his/her designees:

Profane, obscene, violent, or pornographic content and/or language, or sexually suggestive or explicit content links to such materials. Any image or link containing minors or suspected minors in sexual and/or provocative situations will be reported to law enforcement.

Content that promotes or fosters or perpetuates discrimination on the basis of race, creed, color, age, religion, gender, or national origin, marital status, status with regard to public assistance, physical or mental disability or sexual orientation.

Reference to any political party or activity of a political party.

Reference to any religious belief.

Reference to any private interests group or activity of a private interests group.

Defamatory attacks.

Threats to any person or organization.

(8)

Solicitation of commerce, including but not limited to advertising of any business or product for sale.

(9)

Conduct in violation of any federal, state or local law.

(10)

Encouragement of illegal activity or illegal activity.

(11)

Information that may tend to compromise the safety or security of the public or public systems.

(12)

Content that violates a legal ownership interest, such as a copyright, of any party the Borough does not permit or allow copywrite-infringing activities and/or infringement or intellectual property rights on its website or social media sites and will remove any and all content and submissions if properly filed notice that such content and/or submission infringes on another's intellectual property rights.

(13)

Private contact information such as names, addresses and phone numbers no matter how easily obtained elsewhere, unless given approval by the organization; Personal information of a person other than the poster.

(14)

Spamming or repetitive content.

(15)

Comments from children under 13 cannot be posted in order to comply with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act. By posting on a Borough Media Site, users acknowledge that they are at least 13 years old. Parents are responsible for any minor child's posting or comments.

(16)

Content that incites violence.

(17)

Comments containing vulgar, offensive, threatening or harassing language, personal attacks or accusations.

(18)

Persons posting prohibited content are subject to being blocked and barred from posting on Borough social media.

§ 36-7 Breach of policy.

The Borough Administrator or Borough Communications Coordinator and/or his/her designee may be required to remove internet postings on Borough social media sites which are deemed to constitute a breach of policy, as determined by the Borough Administrator subject to applicable archiving and retention requirements.

Any social media site created by the Borough remains the property of the Borough, including all the followers and friends generated by the site. If the person who created the site leaves the employment of the Borough, they must relinquish everything related to the site, including user names, passwords and/or access codes or information.

§ 36-8 Terms of use disclosure.

(To be posted on all Borough social media sites.)

Information disclaimer.

By visiting this site, you understand and agree that the Borough of Glen Rock site is provided "as is." The Borough of Glen Rock makes every effort to provide accurate and complete information on this website. The information contained herein is not official nor in any way shall it be deemed to constitute legal notice where such legal notice is required by law. The information contained in this site is provided as a service and convenience to people needing information about Borough of Glen Rock. Portions of the information on this site may be incorrect or not current. Borough of Glen Rock local government, its officers, employees or agents shall not be liable for damages or losses of any kind arising out of or in connection with the use or performance of information, including but not limited to, damages or losses caused by reliance upon the accuracy or timeliness of any such information, or damages incurred from the viewing, distributing, or copying of those materials.

We recognize that the internet and social media are available 24/7. Comments are welcome at any time. However, due to the need to manage resources, questions and comments will be responded to by Borough Communications Coordinator during normal business hours: Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Linking policy, links to external sites.

The Borough of Glen Rock local government site contains links to outside websites. These websites are not owned, operated, controlled or reviewed by the Borough of Glen Rock local government. These links are provided solely as a courtesy and convenience to you, the visitor.

The Borough of Glen Rock local government, its officers or employees, exercise no control over the organizations, views, accuracy, copyright or trademark, compliance or the legality of the material contained in these outside websites. The Borough of Glen Rock local government, its officers or employees, do not sponsor, endorse, or approve the information, content, proceeds, materials, opinions or services contained on such outside websites. The visitor proceeds to these outside websites at his/her own risk. The Borough of Glen Rock local government specifically disclaims any and all liability from damages, which may result from the accessing of a third-party site, which is linked to the Borough of Glen Rock local government website or from reliance upon only such information.

Endorsement disclaimer. Reference in this website to any specific commercial products, processes, or services, or the use of any trade firm or corporation name is for the information and convenience of the public, and does not constitute endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by Borough of Glen Rock local government or its officers, employees or agents.

Copyright and trademark limitations. Borough of Glen Rock local government makes no warranty that materials contained herein are free of copyright or trademark claims or other restrictions or limitations on free use or display. Making a copy of such material may be subject to copyright or trademark laws.

Use of material from this site.

The Borough of Glen Rock local government has made the content of these pages available to the public and anyone may view, copy or distribute Borough of Glen Rock local government information found here without obligation to the Borough of Glen Rock for noncommercial, personal use only, unless otherwise stated on particular material or information to which a restriction on free use may apply.

The design of this site, original graphics, and original content are all copyrighted by the Borough of Glen Rock and may not be reengineered, distributed, modified, transmitted, reused, reposted, or duplicated without the express written permission of the Borough of Glen Rock in each instance. All requests to use any part of the original design, code, graphics or content of this site should be made via email to the Borough Communications Coordinator and/or the Borough Administrator.

Unauthorized modifications. Unauthorized attempts to modify or otherwise alter any information or image stored on any Borough of Glen Rock local government website may result in criminal prosecution.

Public records law. Social media sites are subject to applicable public records laws. Any content maintained in a social media format related to Borough business, including communications posted by the Borough and communication received from citizens, is a public record. The Borough Communications Department maintaining the site is responsible for responding completely and accurately to any public records request for social media content in conjunction with the Borough Clerk of Glen Rock.

§ 36-9 Procedure.

This procedure sets forth the guidelines to having information posted on the Borough of Glen Rock's social media sites by an organization other than the Borough.

Borough of Glen Rock information, Borough events and meetings announcements, and emergency notifications take precedence over any other announcements.

Requests, including the text of proposed messages, must be emailed to the Borough Communications Coordinator and Borough Administrator and/or his/her designee at least seven days prior to posting the information. The request must contain the following information: full name of organization, time, date and place of the event, contact name, email address and telephone number.

Information shall be emailed as a Microsoft Word document in paragraph form, or PDF.

Organization shall include a maximum of two dates of when to post the information.

Information will be disseminated for two weeks prior to the event.

Only Glen Rock sponsored clubs or organizations, and organizations hosting an event for a nonprofit organization in Glen Rock shall be permitted to seek approval to post information on Borough of Glen Rock's social media sites and public outreach tools.

Every effort will be made to accommodate all requests. If many requests are received for the same period of time, the postings will be determined on a first come, first serve basis. The dates of postings and their duration and content are the final decision of the Borough Communications Director, Borough Administrator and/or his/her designee.

This procedure sets for the guidelines to having information posted on the Borough of Glen Rock's electronic sign by and organization other than the Borough.

Borough of Glen Rock information, Borough event and meetings announcements, and emergency notifications take precedent over any other announcements.

Requests, including the text of the proposed message, must be emailed to the Borough Administrator, Director of Parks and Recreation and/or his/her designee at least seven days prior to the posting of the event. The request must contain the following information: full name or organization, time, date and place of the event, contact name, email address and telephone number. The information requested to be posted must be kept to the barest minimum. The sign can hold three to four lines of 16 to 22 characters, depending on the font size. We reserve the right to shorten, abbreviate and/or condense the announcement so that it fits.

Event announcements will be placed on the sign no more than 14 days prior to the event. Date(s) and duration or postings will be determined by the number of postings requested. Announcement will be removed the following the event conclusion.