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Commissioners Can’t Use Blackberry, Laptop, Text Messaging
August 14, 2009
A new policy expected to be approved next week by the Escambia County Commission will restrict how commissioners can use technology during meetings and to conduct public business.
The policy, drafted by County Attorney Allison Rogers, “is to establish rules for the county commissioners use of technology to ensure they conduct themselves in a responsible, professional, ethical and efficient manner, with an eye toward the public’s perception of their elected officials”.
In the past, it has not been uncommon to see a commissioner typing a message on a Blackberry or other cell phone, or typing on their laptop computer during a commission meeting.
The policy as proposed by the county attorney would have forbidden a commissioner from having any device, including a personal cell phone, powered on during a meeting. That part of the proposal was not acceptable to one commissioner.
“If I keep my phone on vibrate and I get a call, I look down at it and see who it is and know whether I need to answer it or if it’s an emergency or not,” Commissioner Wilson Robertson said. “But I am not going to turn in my cell phone like some of y’all are doing.”
“I have no problem if you can excuse yourself and go tend to your call,” Commissioner Grover C. Robinson said. “But I don’t want to be sitting here in a four-hour meeting and unable to respond to an important call for my business or family.”
The policy will be amended to allow commissioners to have their phone on vibrate or silent during a meeting.
The policy, once approved by commissioners at their August 20 meeting, will forbid them from communicating on blogs; social networking sites like Facebook, MySpace and Twitter; or using text or instant messaging for county related matters. The policy even encourages commissioners request that text and instant messages be disabled on their county-owned devices.
All emails related to county business will also be required to using an official county email address — no personal email addresses can be used for county business. If a commissioner receives an email related to county business at a personal email address, they are to forward it to county address and request that the sender use a county address in the future.
District 5 Commissioner Kevin White said that part of the policy will not be a problem for him. “I don’t have that problem because I don’t even have a private email,” he said.
Florida’s broad public record’s laws state that emails related to county business are public record and must be archived, or maintained.
If a commissioner violates the policy, the other commissioners “may take an available enforcement action against a fellow commissioner”.
“The point is, you don’t want these things to be an interactive way of communicating with each other,” Rogers said. “The policy is really one part courtesy and three parts preventative medicine.”
Comments
2 Responses to “Commissioners Can’t Use Blackberry, Laptop, Text Messaging”
Why do you think you should be able to use your cell phone or computer during your job? A lot of people cant use their cell phone during their jobs because then they wouldn’t be doing their jobs. You are a elected offical and I except you to sit and listen to the matters before you. I am a school teacher and I am not allowed to talk on my phone during class because then I would not be doing my job. What did we do before cell phones? If there was a problem, your family had to call your place of employment and let your boss know there was a problem and then I’m sure someone told you about it. We are to addicted to our cell phones these days. I love having my phone but it should not run our lives.
Grover needs to be gone next election time. Anyone who treats a 73,000 dollar per year job like its part time and cant devote four hours to it because of his “real” job is abusing his constituents. Thank god we have the only voice of reason with Mr White.