The city of Leitchfield is implementing a cell phone and personal digital assistant (PDA) policy, and will likely soon have a social media policy in place.
Many city workers, including police officers and administrative staff, are issued cell phones as well as PDAs to facilitate city business.
According to the new policy, city workers who are given cell phones and/or PDAs “are subject to the following requirements”:
A) The city telephones and PDAs are intended for business purposes and personal use shall be incidental. All cellular phones issued to employees have a basic plan, including a limited number of minutes allowable each month at no additional cost. In the event an employee exceeds the allowable minutes and/or incurs other costs (roaming, etc.) that add to total costs above the costs for basic service in any month, he/she shall reimburse the city for all costs/charges above the costs for basic service.
B) Cellular phones are considered a taxable benefit. The city will randomly select one month each calendar year for tax reporting purposes. During that month, the percentage of personal use will be compared with total business use to determine the personal use of the cellular phone. The percentage of personal calls, coupled with the percentage of the cost for the cellular phone if separate, will be used for reporting the taxable benefit for the calendar year. According to IRS regulations, “free” mobile minutes must be counted as a taxable benefit if used for personal use. [For example, if the costs for services are $40 per month, and the employee used the cellular phone 25 percent of (the time for) personal use during the month surveyed, $120 per year will be reported for tax purposes on the employee’s W-2 Form.]
C) Standard model mobile telephones and PDAs are purchased by the city and replaced on an as needed basis. If a device is lost or stolen, or is physically damaged beyond repair, the employee may be responsible for paying a replacement cost. (A) decision (that) will be made by the mayor on a case-by-case basis.
D) Upon prior approval from the mayor, an employee may purchase his/her own telephone or PDA, which is not standard equipment issued by the city. The city shall evaluate the compatibility of the device with the security protocol of the city’s servers. Employees that are not eligible to be issued a city device shall not be permitted to connect to the city network.
E) All city policies, including but not limited to safety, harassment, ethical conduct, confidentiality, protected health information, and conflict of interest, apply fully to electronic device usage.
F) Lost or stolen phones or other communication devices should be reported to the city clerk or the employee’s immediate supervisor as soon as possible.
G) Since mobile telephone, PDA and locally stored data may be subject to Open Records Laws, there should be no expectation of privacy. Each user is responsible and accountable for the content and use of these tools. Should a personal device be used for business purposes, the employee must comply with Open Records Laws.
H) The issued city phone is the property of the city. Upon resignation or termination of employment, or at any time upon request, the employee may be asked to produce the device for return to the city.
Social media policy
No social media policy currently exists governing city of Leitchfield employees’ use of social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Snapchat.
City Attorney Denny Fentress is now researching how to best construct and implement a social media policy for city employees. He will report back to the council on his findings, likely at the next regularly scheduled city council meeting on September 16.
Based on a discussion among council members at Tuesday night’s Leitchfield City Council meeting, officials would prefer the policy limit city employees’ online discussions with citizens to the city-run Facebook page. Texts from concerned citizens will likely be forwarded to a city-owned telephone number where the citizen’s concern will be routed to the proper person or department.
By Ken Howlett, News Director
Contact Ken at ken@k105.com or 270-259-6000
