Governing Policy: Electronic Communications Policy

Policy Type: Enterprise; Check with the Departmental Policy Coordinator for procedures specific to each department.

Applies To: City Council Departments

Department Approval: Communications

Effective Date: September 1, 2005

Keywords: email; broadcast; sending email to large groups

Procedure

Users shall not engage in mass distribution of messages (to all City users or departments), except as authorized by the City’s Communications Department. Users must request large group broadcasts via the Communications Department.

Requesting a large audience email broadcast

Users shall refer email broadcast requests to the Communications Department.

1. email to all users shall be sent to the exchange email administrator. The exchange email administrator is listed in the Global Address Book as "Exchange Mail Administrator." This mail box is managed by the City’s Communications Department staff. To ensure that your request is received in a timely manner, copy your email to the "Communications" mailbox.
2. The Communications Department will review general distribution email requests and work with the requestor to determine appropriate content and time of distribution. The content must be appropriate for a majority of City employees.
3. High priority or time-sensitive messages can be distributed to all users at any time during business hours. Contact the "Exchange Mail Administrator" to send a high priority message.
4. All messages shall conform to the City's policy on appropriate use of email. The use of graphics and attachments shall be kept to a minimum to reduce processing time. Consider alternatives to sending messages to all users. Check the address books for smaller groups and direct communications to the smallest target audience possible.

Roles & responsibilities

• Users are responsible for submitting requests for email broadcasts to the Communications Department in a timely fashion.
• The Communications Department is responsible for communicating any changes to the request procedures.
• The Communications Department is responsible for advising users on format and content of email broadcasts.

Warning

Widespread distribution of emails can deplete network bandwidth. Therefore, it is best to coordinate with the Communications Department to use the City’s intranet site as a communications vehicle whenever possible.