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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 /> councilmembers,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 councilmember 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 listsery 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 a city-provided computer, home computer or other computer system, <br /> classification of information as public,private or other is governed by the Minnesota <br /> Government Data 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 a city-provided <br /> computer,home computer or other computer system. <br /> Page 2 of 2 <br /> N:\Public Bodie s\Handbooks\Electronic Communications.docx <br />