[Added 4-21-2020 by Ord. No. 2020-13]
a. 
This policy states the guidelines for the establishment of distributions and mailings sponsored, written and/or edited by the Borough of Bound Brook and all of its representatives. The term "representatives" in this policy is inclusive of all Borough employees, governing body members, Borough volunteers, and all members of organizations recognized by the Borough.
b. 
In general, the use of distributions and mailings by representatives of the Borough of Bound Brook is treated no differently than any of the Borough's other communications. This policy is in concert with the Borough's existing policies and procedures with regard to recordkeeping, sustainability, supervision and content requirements for the use of other communications such as the Borough's website, email and fax.
c. 
If you are a Borough representative, and you create, maintain or contribute content to a distribution or mailing as defined below, these guidelines govern your activity. This policy and all distributions and mailings are subject to all applicable federal and New Jersey laws and regulations, as well as applicable retention requirements.
The purpose of this Distributions and Mailings Policy ("Policy") is to establish enforceable rules governing the publication and content of distributions and mailings by Borough representatives when engaged in Borough business. "Distributions and mailings" at this time refer to email blasts, electronic or paper printed newsletters, inserts in newspapers of general circulation, notices, enclosures with billing invoices, and any other printed 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 distribution or mailings which are distributed to the public are appropriate, nonpartisan and pertinent. These guidelines are subject to change as new forms of distributions or mailings are identified.
The objective of the use of distributions and mailings by the Borough or its departments is to expand and facilitate the dissemination of information from the Borough to its residents, taxpayers and the general public.
a. 
No Borough newsletter or newspaper insert shall be established without prior approval of the Borough Council.
b. 
The following distributions or mailings are approved under the direction of the Borough Administrator or his/her designee: email blasts, electronic newsletters, notices and enclosures with billing invoices.
c. 
The Borough's distributions and mailings, and content included within same, shall be managed by the Borough Administrator or his/her designee. The Administrator or his/her designee may designate a representative from any Borough department or organization to administer their own distribution or mailing in accordance with this policy.
d. 
The Borough distributions and mailings shall clearly set forth that they are sponsored by the Borough.
e. 
The Borough Administrator or his/her designee shall monitor the distributions and mailings to ensure adherence to both this Policy and the interest and goals of the Borough. The Borough Administrator shall restrict or remove any content that is deemed in violation of this Policy or any applicable law.
f. 
This Policy may be revised at any time by approval of the Borough Council.
g. 
This Policy governs all distributions or mailings used by or on behalf of the Borough and/or its departments or sponsored organizations.
Any of the following inappropriate forms of content shall not be permitted on the Borough's distributions or mailings and are subject to removal and/or restriction by the Borough Administrator or his/her designee.
a. 
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;
b. 
Content that promotes, 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;
c. 
Reference to any political party or activity of a political party;
d. 
Reference to any religious belief;
e. 
Reference to any private interest group or activity of a private interest group;
f. 
Defamatory attacks;
g. 
Threats to any person or organization;
h. 
Conduct in violation of any federal, state or local law;
i. 
Encouragement of illegal activity or illegal activity;
j. 
Information that may tend to compromise the safety or security of the public or public systems;
k. 
Content that violates a legal ownership interest, such as a copyright, of any party the Borough does not permit or allow copyright-infringing activities and/or infringement of intellectual property rights on its distributions or mailings and will remove any and all content and submissions if properly notified that such content and/or submission infringes on another's intellectual property rights;
l. 
Private contact information such as names, addresses and phone numbers no matter how easily obtained elsewhere, unless given approval by the organization; and
m. 
Content that incites violence.
The Borough Administrator or his/her designee shall be required to remove content proposed for any distribution or mailing which is deemed to constitute a breach of Policy, as determined by the Borough Administrator.
This procedure sets forth the guidelines to having information posted in a Borough mailing or distribution by an organization other than the Borough:
a. 
Borough information, Borough events and meeting announcements, and emergency notifications take precedent over any other announcements.
b. 
Requests, including the text of the proposed messages or articles, must be emailed to the Borough Administrator and/or his/her designee at least 10 days prior to publishing the information. The request must contain the following information: full name of organization, time, date and place of the event (if the request is for announcement of an event), contact name, email address and telephone number.
c. 
Information shall be emailed as a Microsoft Word document in paragraph form (Times New Roman, 12 font); no PDFs or fliers will be accepted.
d. 
Organizations shall include a maximum of two dates of when to post the information.
e. 
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-served basis. The final decision of whether to include such proposed content shall be made by the Borough Administrator and/or his/her designee.