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If a councilmember wishes to share information with other members, s/he should <br />do so through staff. The councilmember may request staff to distribute materials to <br />others. The communication should not invite response to or discussion between any <br />counciltnembers, including replies to the person making the distribution request. <br />This should be considered a method for providing one-way information to other <br />members of the council. Again, remember that materials relating to agenda items for <br />city business must be provided to the public at the meeting. <br />If a councilmember wishes to address only one other member through electronic <br />means on any topic related to city business, s/he can do so directly but should be <br />mindful of the following: <br />o One-to one communication is ideal. <br />o The recipient of an electronic message or inquiry should reply only to the <br />sender, should not copy others on the reply, and should not forward the <br />original communication to other councilmembers. <br />o The sender of an electronic message should not forward or copy the <br />recipient's reply to any other councilmember. <br />o Neither the recipient nor sender should publish such correspondence on any <br />blogs or other social media site unless it is part of an official communication <br />of the whole of the Council, and part of the city-managed electronic <br />communication strategy. <br />If a councihnember receives an electronic communication from any source related to <br />city business and distributed to multiple councilmembers (i.e. an email sent to the <br />entire council from a member of the public; or an email sent to three council <br />members from a local business), s/he should reply only to the sender. The reply <br />should not be copied to all the original distribution or forwarded to any other <br />councilmember. <br />If a councilmember receives listserv distributions, electronic newsletters, or <br />participates in electronic discussion forums, chatrooms, or on Facebook, Twitter or <br />blogs where other councilmembers are also likely to participate, the councilmember <br />should not reply to any distribution or comment so that the reply is copied to the <br />entire distribution group, or any part of the group that might include other <br />councilmembers. The councilmember should instead respond only to the sender of <br />any message or inquiry. <br />Classification and retention of electronic communications <br />Regardless of whether electronic communication by a councilmember is taking place <br />on achy-provided computer, home computer or other computer system, <br />classification of information as public, private or other is governed by the Minnesota <br />Government Date Practices Act (Minn. Stat. Chapt. 13) and should be treated <br />accordingly. <br />Councilmembers should retain electronic communications in keeping with city <br />policies and procedures, whether such communication takes place on achy-provided <br />computer, home computer or other computer system. <br />S:\Public Bodies\Boards\Board and Commission Handbook\New Board and Commission Folder\Electronic Comm Guidelines.doc <br />