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Communication outside of council meetings <br /> • Council members should generally act with caution when using electronic means to <br /> communicate with one another,being mindful of the Minnesota Open Meeting Law. <br /> • If a council member wishes to share information with other members,s/he should do so <br /> through the city clerk.The council member may request the city clerk distribute materials <br /> to others.The communication should not invite response to or discussion between any <br /> council members,including replies to the person making the distribution request.This <br /> should be considered a method for providing one-way information to other members of the <br /> council.Again remember that materials relating to agenda items for city business must be <br /> provided to the public at the meeting. <br /> • If a council member wishes to address only one other member through electronic means on <br /> any topic related to city business,s/he can do so directly,but should be mindful of the <br /> following: <br /> o One-to-one communication is ideal. <br /> o The recipient of an electronic message or inquiry should reply only to the sender, <br /> should not copy others on the reply and should not forward the original <br /> communication to other council members. <br /> o The sender of an electronic message should not forward or copy the recipient's <br /> reply to any other council member. <br /> o Neither the recipient or sender should publish such correspondence on any blogs or <br /> other social media site unless it is part of an official communication of the whole of <br /> the Council,and part of the city-managed electronic communication strategy. <br /> • If a council member receives an electronic communication from any source related to city <br /> business and distributed to multiple council members(i.e. an email sent to the entire <br /> council from a member of the public;or an email sent to three council members from a <br /> local business), s/he should reply only to the sender.The reply should not be copied to all <br /> on the original distribution or forwarded to any other council member. <br /> • If a council member receives listsery distributions,electronic newsletters,or participates in <br /> electronic discussion forums,chatrooms,or on Facebook,Twitter or blogs where other <br /> council members are also likely to participate,the council member should not reply to any <br /> distribution or comment so that the reply is copied to the entire distribution group,or any <br /> part of the group that might include other council members.The council member should <br /> instead respond only to the sender of any message or inquiry. <br /> Classification and Retention of electronic communications <br /> • Regardless of whether electronic communication by a council member is taking place on a <br /> city provided computer,home computer or other computer system, classification of <br /> information as public,private or other is governed by the Minnesota Government Data <br /> Practices Act(Minn. Stat. Chapt. 13)and should be treated accordingly. <br /> • Council members should retain electronic communications in keeping with city policies <br /> and procedures,whether such communication takes place on a city-provided computer, <br /> home computer or other computer system. <br /> 5 <br />