The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink AboutCommunications Policy Update (2)Date: To: From: Re: August 26, 2009 Board of County Commissioners Erik Kropp, Deputy County Administrator Draft Update to Deschutes County Communications Policy, GA -3 Attached is a draft update to the County's Communication Policy for your consideration at the September 2, 2009 Work Session. The draft changes are underlined and can be found on page 4 under a new proposed section called "Social Networking Sites, Blogs, Postings on the Internet." The rest of the policy remains unchanged. The proposed changes update the policy to include new media sources and outlets and cover the following topics: • Staff/County officials have the free speech right to comment on County affairs on personal blogs, social network sites, and other websites, but defamatory statements are not protected under law. • Departments that choose to use social networking tools for department public communication shall first consult with the Public Communications Coordinator and IT staff. c: Dave Kanner, County Administrator Anna Johnson, Public Communications Coordinator Mark Pilliod, Legal Counsel Joe Sadony, IT Director TES Deschutes County Administrative Policy No: GA-3 cl'eMZ{ Effective Date: DRAFT DESCHUTES COUNTY COMMUNICATIONS POLICY STATEMENT OF POLICY It is the policy of Deschutes County to deliver messages to the public, the media and to each other in a manner that is consistent, effective and accurate. APPLICABILITY This policy applies to all Deschutes County employees. Adherence to certain portions of this policy, including but not limited to notice, representation of personal opinions, media conferences and releases, spokespersons and statements, is not required of elected officials, although elected officials are encouraged to use this policy as a guideline. In addition, this policy recognizes that the provisions of ORS 260.432 regarding advocacy of political positions during working hours does not apply to elected officials. POLICY AND PROCEDURE In General All employees shall inform the Public Communications Coordinator of all media contacts, and opportunities for media interaction. Departments with internal public information or marketing functions/staff shall coordinate their efforts with the Public Communications Coordinator to ensure consistent and coordinated public messages. These departmental staff positions, while reporting directly to the respective department head or supervisor, shall inform the Public Communications Coordinator of all media and marketing projects/campaigns prior to their execution. The Public Communications Coordinator will review and may assist in the stages of coordination and proofing of County publications and communication projects. Incidents To the best of their ability and in as timely a manner as possible, Departments will notify the County Administrator and/or Public Communications Coordinator of incidents that may receive media attention, prior to these items becoming public knowledge. Minor inquiries (for example: spelling of an employee's name, the date and time of a meeting, etc.) do not require Administration notification. The County Administrator and the Public Communications Coordinator will notify the Board of County Commissioners and department managers as necessary. Newsworthy events are those that have received or are likely to receive media interest. Examples include employee arrests, significant accidents on the job, investigations, and other events of similar importance. Notification must occur as promptly as possible, and may be through an email or phone call to the County Administrator and Public Communications Coordinator concurrently. Departments must provide notification when media coverage is known to have occurred about the incident. Media Advisories All departments will notify the County Administrator and Public Communications Coordinator with as much advance notice possible to issuing media advisories. Examples: health related media advisories, and Parole & Probation sex offender absconder notices. The County Administrator Policy No. GA -3, Communications Page 1 and the Public Communications Coordinator will notify the Board of County Commissioners and other key staff as necessary. A copy of the media advisory shall be provided to the Public Communications Coordinator and the County Administrator to ensure that administrative staff and the Board can respond appropriately if there are any media or public inquiries relating to the advisory. Media Inquiries Department staff shall notify the County Administrator and/or the Public Communications Coordinator of all inquiries from the media. The County Administrator and/or the Public Communications Coordinator will notify the Board of County Commissioners and other key staff as necessary. Inquiries may include requests for interviews or requests for information. Notification shall occur promptly, preferably prior to media interviews of County staff,. In the event that an interview, information or access is provided prior to notification to the County Administrator and the Public Communications Coordinator, every effort should be made to contact both as soon as possible thereafter. All employees are expected to practice common sense and professionalism in interactions with media representatives and in determining the appropriate response to media inquiries. All employees are to practice open, honest and factual communications without guessing or making assumptions when responding to the media. Employees shall be respectful of news media deadlines, and should not withold documents and information that is routine or has already been made public. For guidance on handling requests for documents and public information, refer to policy #GA -2, Public Records Requests. If in doubt on how to respond to media inquiries, employees shall refer to their supervisor or department head. Departments are encouraged to contact the Public Communications Coordinator for media guidance, media training and/or advice, if needed. When speaking to the media or members of the public, employees shall not, under any circumstances, predict or state the certainty of future Board of Commissioners' action on any matter. Countywide Emails All employees will contact the Public Communications Coordinator prior to sending countywide email messages except as provided for herein. All staff email messages will be considered on a case-by-case basis for message urgency and topic. All staff messages may be sent without prior approval in cases of Personnel and Risk Management Department trainings and announcements, countywide outages of telephone, HVAC or other support systems, or in cases of scheduled computer maintenance that will limit access to programs and applications. Please refer to Policy #IT -1, Computer Usage for further details. Branding It is each department's responsibility to create increased awareness of Deschutes County's image and services by using the approved County logo on all internal and external materials for distribution. Custom printed materials already ordered and in-house should be depleted before implementing this branding policy on new printing orders. Marketing Campaigns Department staff will inform the Public Communications Coordinator prior to launching any marketing initiative to ensure consistent County -wide design and quality. Policy No. GA -3, Communications Page 2 *Advertising All advertising for county programs and services, whether paid or unpaid, will identify the County with the words "Deschutes County" and one of the approved County logos. Departments that coordinate their own ad placement shall have all ads approved by the Public Communications Coordinator prior to the purchase of advertising space for the ad and prior to the start of any advertising campaign. This provision is intended to complement and not conflict with Policy #GA -5, "Advertising (at Knott Landfill)." Conflicts between these two policies shall be referred to the County Administrator for resolution. Collateral Materials (brochures, annual reports, newsletters, vinyl banners, flyers, etc.) Departments will develop materials as necessary to support their communications goals and strategies. All collateral materials will appropriately identify the County and will always include one of the approved Deschutes County logos and the name "Deschutes County" on the face of the brochure/flyer or other materials. All collateral materials developed by departments must be reviewed by the Public Communications Coordinator at least two weeks prior to the scheduled printing of such materials. The development of new department logos is discouraged. If a department has its own County logo design (prior to the approval date on this policy), it shall adhere to the following guidelines. If the collateral is a brochure: 1) The department logo will be placed on the first page and 2) The name "Deschutes County" shall appear on the first page 2) The approved Deschutes County logo must appear on the final page -at the bottom of the collateral. 3) If the collateral material is in a format other than a brochure, both logos must appear on the front page. Deschutes County's color logo shall be used on all color collateral materials. Representation of County Positions and Personal Opinions No County employee, when acting in their official capacity, shall submit a letter to the editor or opinion piece to any newspaper, periodical or online forum that has not been approved in advance by the County Administrator or the Administrator's designee. The County Administrator and/or the Public Communications Coordinator will notify the Board of County Commissioners and department managers as necessary. In no event shall meetings with editorial boards of any news organization be held without the prior notification of the County Administrator and/or Public Communications Coordinator. Correspondence to media shall reflect strategic alignment between employees and Department management. Staff is welcome to consult with the Public Communications Coordinator in advance for advice on these types of media correspondence. Failure to adhere to the provisions of this section of this policy shall be grounds for disciplinary action. Consistent with the provisions of ORS 260 as it currently exists or may from time to time be amended, this policy is not intended to restrict an employee's first amendment right to freely express their personal opinions in print or electronic media or other public forum. However, when commenting on County issues as a private citizen, such expression should clearly state that the employee is offering his or her personal view and is not speaking on behalf of the County. When speaking to the public or the news media in their official capacity as a county employee, employees should offer only the officially adopted positions, policies and staff recommendations of the County. Policy No. GA -3, Communications Page 3 Social Networking Sites, Blogs, Postings on the Internet The County recognizes that employees and County officials have the free speech right to comment about County affairs on their personal blogs, social networking sites, and other websites (on their own time). However, defamatory statements about County employees or officials are not protected under law and the County will not defend and will not hold harmless those who make such allegedly defamatory comments. County employees/officials commenting on County affairs shall differentiate their personal opinions from the official position of Deschutes County. Social networking tools (including - but not limited to - blogs, Facebook, and Twitter) are fast becoming a part of mainstream communications. By working with the IT Department's web staff, departments can effectively and efficiently leverage these tools to enhance Deschutes County's ability to communicate with the public. Department staff shall consult with the Public Communications Coordinator and IT staff to discuss and strategize implementation of a department social networking tool. County department social networking tools shall not be created without the direct involvement of the IT Department's Web staff. IT will create the social media tool (e.g., Twitter account or Facebook "Fan" page) on behalf of the department. Department staff shall maintain the tool to ensure that information is timely and up to date, in accordance with the established strategies and goals. If this requirement cannot be met, the site will be decommissioned. Media Conferences Departments are encouraged to plan media conferences with the assistance of the Public Communications Coordinator. Departments shall notify the Public Communications Coordinator and County Administrator of their intention to hold a media conference prior to scheduling and announcing the media event. The County Administrator and the Public Communications Coordinator will notify the Board of County Commissioners and department managers as necessary. The Public Communications Coordinator can assist departments with media conference planning details, speech writing, talking points, inviting speakers and/or dignitaries, developing an agenda/program, preparation of media releases/media kits and more. Media (Press) Releases All media releases shall be prepared using the approved template which can be obtained from the Public Communications Coordinator for future use. County employees shall have media releases reviewed by the Public Communications Coordinator as much in advance as possible to media release distribution. Media releases concerning emergency situations, breaking news, crime scenes and fires may be sent without prior review. Departments are responsible for notifying community partners or agencies mentioned in media releases. All media releases shall include a County contact that is immediately available to media representatives at the time the media release is distributed. Spokespersons Departments are encouraged to identify a spokesperson that is authorized to speak on behalf of the department. The authorized spokesperson may be the department head or any other person designated by the director. No one will speak on behalf of the Board of County Commissioners or on behalf of the County Administrator unless expressly authorized to do so by the individuals themselves. If an employee speaks to the media, they shall speak truthfully and factually; not repeating rumors or hearsay. Employees shall not speculate about other's motives or thoughts, and may speak only on actions that have been taken. At all times, employees shall be aware if they speak untruthfully (even if the item was heard from someone else), the employee may be subject to a Policy No. GA -3, Communications Page 4 defamation claim. The County is not required to defend or indemnify an employee who makes allegedly defamatory statements, if the employee was not speaking in the course and scope of their employment or if the statement constituted malfeasance in office or willful or wanton neglect of duty. The employee may be required to pay for their own legal expenses if a legal action is filed as a result of their conversation with the media. So as to avoid prejudicing the outcome of an investigation or official proceeding by having it "tried in the media," employees should refrain from talking to the news media about personnel and legal matters or claims under investigation by the County or about the investigative proceedings themselves during the course of an ongoing County investigation. Employees shall refer media inquiries to County Legal Counsel if questions arise regarding a County investigation or other official proceeding. Employees shall not provide to the media any information that is protected from disclosure under local, state and federal regulations. If employees are uncertain about speaking to the media, they may refer the media contact to the department spokesperson. If that contact is not available, the media representative can be referred to the County Public Communications Coordinator, County Administrator or to Legal Counsel. Written Statements Written statements to the media are appropriate when a one-on-one interview is not possible or appropriate. Whenever practical, departments shall have the Public Communications Coordinator and/or the County Administrator approve written statements. *Approved Deschutes County logos can be obtained from the County's Pubic Communications Coordinator or Website Manager. Approved by the Deschutes County Board of Commissioners DATE Dave Kanner County Administrator Policy No. GA -3, Communications Page 5