HomeMy WebLinkAboutBOARD STANDING COMMITTEES - 07102023 - Internal Ops Agenda PktINTERNAL OPERATIONS
COMMITTEE
July 10, 2023
11:00 A.M.
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Supervisor Candace Andersen, Chair
Supervisor Diane Burgis, Vice Chair
Agenda Items:Items may be taken out of order based on the business of the day and preference of the Committee
1.Introductions
2.Public comment on any item under the jurisdiction of the Committee and not on this agenda (speakers may be limited
to two minutes).
3.RECEIVE and APPROVE the Record of Action for the June 12, 2023 Internal Operations Committee meeting.
(Julie Enea, IOC Staff)
4.RECEIVE report on proposed updates to the County's social media policy and related training materials. (Kristi
Jourdan, Director, Office of Communications and Media)
5.The August 14 meeting has been canceled. The next meeting is currently scheduled for September 11, 2023.
6.Adjourn
The Internal Operations Committee will provide reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities planning to attend
Internal Operations Committee meetings. Contact the staff person listed below at least 72 hours before the meeting.
Any disclosable public records related to an open session item on a regular meeting agenda and distributed by the County to a
majority of members of the Internal Operations Committee less than 96 hours prior to that meeting are available for public
inspection at 1025 Escobar St., 4th Floor, Martinez, during normal business hours. Staff reports related to items on the agenda
are also accessible on line at www.co.contra-costa.ca.us.
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HOW TO PROVIDE PUBLIC COMMENT:
Persons who wish to address the Internal Operations Committee during public comment on matters within the jurisdiction of
the Committee that are not on the agenda, or who wish to comment with respect to an item on the agenda, may comment in
person, via Zoom, or via call-in. Those participating in person should offer comments when invited by the Committee Chair.
Those participating via Zoom should indicate they wish to speak by using the “raise your hand” feature in the Zoom app. Those
calling in should indicate they wish to speak by pushing *9 on their phones.
All public comments will be limited to 2 minutes per speaker.
Public comments may also be submitted to Committee staff before the meeting by email or by voicemail. Comments submitted by
email or voicemail will be included in the record of the meeting but will not be read or played aloud during the meeting.
For Additional Information Contact:
Julie DiMaggio Enea, Committee Staff
Phone (925) 655-2056, Fax (925) 655-2066
julie.enea@cao.cccounty.us
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INTERNAL OPERATIONS COMMITTEE 3.
Meeting Date:07/10/2023
Subject:RECORD OF ACTION FOR THE JUNE 12, 2023 IOC MEETING
Submitted For: Monica Nino, County Administrator
Department:County Administrator
Referral No.: N/A
Referral Name: RECORD OF ACTION
Presenter: Julie DiMaggio Enea Contact: Julie DiMaggio Enea (925) 655-2056
Referral History:
County Ordinance requires that each County body keep a record of its meetings. Though the record need not be verbatim, it
must accurately reflect the agenda and the decisions made in the meeting.
Referral Update:
Attached is the Record of Action for the June 12, 2023 IOC meeting.
Recommendation(s)/Next Step(s):
RECEIVE and APPROVE the Record of Action for the June 12, 2023 IOC meeting.
Fiscal Impact (if any):
None.
Attachments
DRAFT IOC Record of Action for 6-12-23
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INTERNAL OPERATIONS
COMMITTEE
RECORD OF ACTION FOR
June 12, 2023
Supervisor Candace Andersen, Chair
Supervisor Diane Burgis, Vice Chair
Present: Candace Andersen, Chair
Diane Burgis, Vice Chair
Staff Present:Monica Nino, County Administrator; Julie Enea, Sr Dep CAO
Attendees:Timothy Ewell, Chief Asst. County Administrator; Laura Strobel, Sr. Deputy CAO;
Emilia Gabriele, EHSD; Cindy Shehorn, Public Works; Melvin Russell, Probation
Dept.; Michael Kent, Health Services Dept.; Lara DeLaney, Sr. Dep CAO w/ Arts
Council members; Rick Stein representing Arts Orange County; Maureen Parkes,
DCD; Jami Morritt, Chief Asst Clerk of the Board; Jason Chan, Sr. Deputy CAO;
Chrystine Robbins, CAO Sr. Mgmt Analyst; Jill Ray, District II Supv Office; Alicia
Nuchols, District III Supervisor's Office; Carrie Ricci, Public Works; Lauren Hull, Clerk
of the Board's Office; Tom Geiger, County Counsel; Eric Gelston, County Counsel's
Office; Adam Nguyen, County Finance Director; Enid Mendoza, Sr. Deputy CAO;
Abby Balana; Call in User 1; District III Brentwood; Public Works Admin
1.Introductions
Chair Andersen called the meeting to order at 11:02 a.m.
2.Public comment on any item under the jurisdiction of the Committee and not on this agenda (speakers
may be limited to two minutes).
No one requested to speak during the public comment period and no written public comment
was received.
3.RECEIVE and APPROVE the Record of Action for the May 8, 2023 IOC meeting.
The Record of Action for the May 8, 2023 meeting was approved with the correction to the
typographical error in Chair Andersen's last name in the first item summary.
AYE: Chair Candace Andersen
Vice Chair Diane Burgis
4.RECOMMEND to the Board of Supervisors the appointment of Jamin Pursell to the Environmental
Organization seat and Heidi Taylor to the Environmental Organization Alternate seat on the Hazardous
Materials Commission, to complete terms that will expire on December 31, 2024; and appointment of
Gretchen Salter to the General Public Alternate seat to complete a term that will expire on December 31,
2023 and to a new four-year term that will expire on December 31, 2027, as recommended by the
Commission.
DRAFT
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Chair Andersen introduced the item and Michael Kent responded to Committee questions. Vice
Chair Burgis was concerned about the lack of East County representation on the Commission
and asked that the Commission work with her office to broaden outreach to her District with the
goal of attracting East County applicants. She receives a lot of feedback from her constituents
about oil drilling and hazardous materials. Representation on advisory boards has not grown
commensurate with the population of District III. Vice Chair Burgis wants to ensure that District
III stakeholders have an opportunity to be considered for advisory body seats. Because the
District is on the far east end of the county, more effort may be needed to engage volunteers
from District III. Commission staff recruitment announcements to the BOS offices and known
organizations. Staff can work is District 3 staff to do more recruitment in east county.
In recognition of the goal to increase East County representation and also the need to have
enough filled seats to achieve a quorum, the Committee decided to:
Move forward with the nomination of Jamin Pursell to fill the Environmental Organization
seat through December 31, 2024;
1.
Delay the nominations of Heidi Taylor and Gretchen Salter until more recruitment is done
in Supervisor Burgis' District;
2.
Move Frank Qin's nomination to an Industry seat directly to the Board's consent calendar
once the vacancy posting period has elapsed.
3.
The Committee directed that nominations to fill remaining vacancies in the Environmental
Organization Alternate, General Public Alternate seats be brought back to the IOC in October.
AYE: Chair Candace Andersen
Vice Chair Diane Burgis
5.APPROVE out of cycle grant in the amount of $10,343 from the Fish and Wildlife Propagation Fund to
the Contra Costa Resource Conservation District to cover eligible past and future costs for the 2023
Contra Costa County Creek and Watershed Symposium to be held on October 26, 2023.
Maureen Parkes presented the staff report and recommendation. She noted that the symposium
happens every 4 years and qualifies for out of cycle grant. The Fish and Wildlife Committee has
recommended an allocation for every symposium since inception. The Committee approved the
staff recommendation and directed that this item be moved forward to the BOS on the Consent
calendar.
AYE: Chair Candace Andersen
Vice Chair Diane Burgis
6.CONSIDER whether the County should add Implicit Bias training to the required training curriculum for
County advisory body members.
Chair Andersen introduced the item and explained what prompted the recommendation. Staff
identified several free online courses on Implicit Bias that might be appropriate for the County's
purposes. The Committee directed the Clerk of the Board to screen the suggested and possible
other online training courses, select one to be added to the mandatory training curriculum for
Board advisory body members, and bring such recommendation for discussion at a public
meeting of the Board of Supervisors.
AYE: Chair Candace Andersen
Vice Chair Diane Burgis
7.CONSIDER recommending to the Board of Supervisors adoption of the final draft Arts & Culture Master
Plan for Contra Costa County , to be presented to the Board of Supervisors at its meeting on June 27,
2023.
DRAFT
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Lara DeLaney introduced the item and the Arts Council Steering Committee, which was present
and attending virtually from a County conference room. She explained that following adoption
of the Master Plan, release of an RFP is anticipated to procure the services of an Arts Council to
form that private-public partnership and provide the State local partner services for an Arts
Council.
Rick Stein presented the draft Arts and Culture Master Plan, which has been the culmination of
the work of Arts Council Steering Committee. He reported that what emerged from their robust
community and put gathering process is an ambitious vision of a future Contra Costa County, in
which arts and culture are deeply integrated into and contributing positively to all aspects of
community life. A new Arts Council will affirm and model best practices and equity, diversity
and inclusion, empowering all to be heard and to participate fully. The Arts Council will connect,
to communicate, support, and advocate for Contra Costa's creative community. The vision
values and mission are distilled into goals with detailed specific action items, a projected 5 year
operating budget and organizational structure, all providing a blueprint for the organization
selected by the Board of Supervisors to be its public private partner. In delivering a full portfolio
of services, the County itself will play an essential role as the contracting entity, investing
budgeted funds to help ensure that this effort is successfully launched and can become
sustainable. The remainder of the report document includes considerable background as well as
data collected by the consultant over the past 10 months. The team is still working with a
graphic designer to clean up and update some of the images in the draft report, so there may be
a few replacements before it comes before the full Board of Supervisors. Ben Miyagi
commented about how the Master Plan highlights the rich diversity of the county. Lara DeLaney
added that the Master Plan would eventually be translated into Spanish and possibly additional
languages. Vice Chair Burgis requested that pie charts be added, based on pages on 38 and 39,
to better illustrate the differing levels of activity among districts. She explained that District 3 is
growing and still young, not as established in the arts and culture community as some of the
more developed districts. Margo commented that the Steering Committee is working with a
consultant to design an interactive cultural map showcasing arts and culture organizations. The
map would enable organizations to add themselves to the map. This effort is targeted to roll out
targeted in September for the Arts Council to maintain going forward.
Chair Andersen thanked the whole Steering Committee, as well as Rick Stein, for attending the
IOC meeting and also for their work, which exceeded her expectation. She has received positive
feedback on the draft Master Plan.
With Vice Chair Burgis's suggestion to add pie charts, the Committee voted to move the draft
Master Plan to the Board of Supervisors for discussion at a future meeting.
AYE: Chair Candace Andersen
Vice Chair Diane Burgis
8.Today’s action is seeking approval of modifications to Administrative Bulletin No. 600,
“Purchasing Policies and Procedures”, including any edits from the Internal Operations
Committee, and directing the County Administrator to prepare all necessary actions to
implement the updated policy for consideration by the Board of Supervisors.
Recommendations
ACCEPT report from the County Administrator on process undertaken to update
Administrative Bulletin No. 600, “Procurement Policies and Procedures”.
1.
APPROVE Administrative Bulletin No. 600, “Procurement Policies and Procedures” and
DIRECT the County Administrator to prepare all necessary actions to implement the
policy for consideration by the full Board of Supervisors.
2.
PROVIDE any additional direction to staff as needed.3.
DRAFT
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Timothy Ewell presented the staff report and recommendations. The goal of the purchasing
policy update is to better guide and support staff who may be trying to navigate their way
through the County's maze of purchasing and service contract policies. The update
consolidates nine separate administrative bulletins related to purchasing and contracting into
one comprehensive policy. The new policy references some related special purchasing policies
that will remain separate, such as the Small Business Enterprise, environmentally preferable
procurement policy, and computer hardware and software policy, so that the comprehensive
policy can survive policy updates within the separate policies and also to avoid creating
conflicting policies. The special policies will act as "plug-ins' to the comprehensive policy. This
first update is the first phase of a multi-phase project. Trailer actions, such as ordinance
revisions, will be required to effectuate the recommended updates. Our current procurement
policy landscape is a patchwork of ordinances, resolutions, board orders, and administrative
bulletins from the County Administrators office, and some are just simple memos that have
been issued over the years. The myriad sources for policies presents difficulties for new and
current employees who are newly assigned procurement related functions.
The recommended policy will return some discretion to our department heads to recommend
contracts under $200,000 for approval by the Purchasing Agent. For reference, the Health
Services Department alone has about 1,700 contracts outstanding at any given time, that
heretofore have required County Administrator approval. The CAO believes the amount of risk
mitigated by CAO review of contracts under $200,000 does not justify the significant amount of
time expended by CAO staff, which might better be applied to higher risk transactions. The
proposed delegation of contract authority would be balanced by new required contract
monitoring procedures and solicitation thresholds. Contract monitoring will necessitate that
departments incorporate performance measurement and performance outcomes in their
contract service plans.
The recommended policy will also streamline transactions that involve both a purchase of a
commodity and a service, e.g., purchase of a copier with related installation and maintenance
services. Such a purchase must currently be accomplished in two separate transactions, which
is not the industry standard and has caused consternation among vendors. The proposed
policy will permit such duel purchases to be combined into one transaction.
The recommended policy will establish, for the first time, minimum bid solicitation
requirements by procurement type. Transactions over $100,000 should be competitively bid,
unless other requirements stipulate more stringent thresholds. We are also encouraging the
use of cooperative purchasing agreements such as pre-negotiated rates through the U.S.
General Services Administration, which can be accepted in lieu of a new solicitation.
The policy review process involved County departments, and the staff report includes all 78
comments and suggestions from 7 departments, along with responses to every comment and
rationale for either agreeing or not agreeing with them. In May, the County implemented
Docusign, utilizing digital versions of our most common standard form contracts. Docusign
eliminates the need and requirement for signature notarization -- a use of new technology to
help streamline the County's contracting process. For Phase 2 of this effort, the CAO plans to
concentrate on the County's SBE and Outreach Programs, with a goal of combining those
policies into one administrative bulletin that will plug into the umbrella purchasing policy. The
Board's Equity Committee is reviewing these programs for possible update.
Phase 3 contemplates updating the County's purchasing manual and our Contract
Administration guide, which are procedural manuals. Phase 4 will focus on developing a
training library on all of these policy changes. CAO is recommending that the County
procurement policies be placed on a triennial review schedule to maintain their relevance.
Chair Andersen was very supportive of these changes. Vice Chair Burgis appreciated the
additional accountability included in the updated policy. The Committee appreciated the fresh
look at the current policies and processes and approved moving the recommended policy to
the Board on the Consent calendar.
DRAFT
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AYE: Chair Candace Andersen
Vice Chair Diane Burgis
9.The next meeting is currently scheduled for July 10, 2023.
The Committee confirmed the next meeting date of July 10.
10.Adjourn
Chair Andersen adjourned the meeting at 12:18 p.m.
For Additional Information Contact:
Julie DiMaggio Enea, Committee Staff
Phone (925) 655-2056, Fax (925) 655-2066
julie.enea@cao.cccounty.us
DRAFT
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INTERNAL OPERATIONS COMMITTEE 4.
Meeting Date:07/10/2023
Subject:UPDATE TO SOCIAL MEDIA POLICY
Submitted For: Monica Nino, County Administrator
Department:County Administrator
Referral No.:
Referral Name:
Presenter: Kristi Jourdan Contact: Kristi Jourdan
Referral History:
On June 17, 2014, the Board of Supervisors approved a social media policy governing the use of various online engagement
tools by County employees for business communication purposes. The County Administrator requested the Office of
Communications and Media (OCM), with assistance from County Counsel, develop guidelines for use and training. Input and
direction from the Internal Operations Committee in 2013 and 2014 shaped the contents of the umbrella policy. Due to staffing
and resource limitations, the implementation of the policy was deferred to 2016.
Unfortunately, the policy was never rolled out as an Administrative Bulletin and trainings were not provided on what is now
Vector Solutions, per the IO Committee direction in 2016.
Referral Update:
OCM and public information officers countywide have extensively researched best practices in implementing government
social media policies. Based on that research, staff has updated the 2014 social media policy (Attachment 2), developed a new
supplemental guide for best practices (Attachment 3), and will create an intranet-based website that will provide County social
media administrators with guidelines for use of the primary social media tools currently being utilized. Those include Next
Door, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and LinkedIn, among others. As more tools emerge, they will be added to the
guide.
Recommendation(s)/Next Step(s):
With consideration to any feedback received from the IOC, it is staff's intention for format and promulgate the updated social
media policy/playbook as an Administrative Bulletin for reference by all employees. The Vector Solutions training modules
and intranet site with guidelines for use and other resources is expected to be ready for use by December 1, 2023, allowing the
policy to go into full effect before the end of the year.
Fiscal Impact (if any):
For awareness, the Office of Communications & Media currently has an annual agreement in place with Archive Social for
records retention. Updates to the policy and the introduction of the supplemental guide will not cost departments any additional
funding.
Attachments
Attachment 1: Powerpoint_IOC Social Media Policy
Attachment 2: Draft Updated Social Media Policy/Playbook
Attachment 3: draft Social Media Playbook Powerpoint
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Office of Communications & Media
July 11, 2023
Internal Operations Committee –Social
Media Policy & Best Practices
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Consistency
1.Coordinate a common set of procedures for departmental use of social media
a.Guidance on information to post
b.Usage during emergencies
c.Records retention
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Background & Timeline
1.June 2014 –Board of Supervisors approves County’s first social media policy
2.Due to staffing and resource limitations, implementation of the policy was
deferred to 2016.
3.February 2023 --Office of Communications & Media collaborates with Public
Information Officers throughout the County to review and update
a.Staff turnover
b.Review to ensure aligns with ever-changing landscape of social media and to determine whether
current messaging and strategy was effective
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Proposed Changes
•Adding definitions
•Defining a process for posting
•Developing best practices for safety and security
•Offering clear guidance for:
•Mistakes
•Checking with County Counsel before removing offensive content and applying consistently
•Branding
•Page management
•Comment policy
•New resource –supplemental guide of best practices
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Recommendation
•Accept the proposed changes and format the policy as an Administrative Bulletin
and make available to all employees.
•Instruct staff to create a training module and intranet site with guidelines for use
and other resources by December 1, 2023, allowing this policy to go into full effect
before the end of the year.
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Questions
6
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Contents:
I. Definitions
II. Social Media Usage
a. Process for Posting Social Media
b. Information Posted on Social Media Sites
c. Use of Social Media During Countywide Emergency Events
III. The Public Records Act & Retention of Posted Information
IV. Employees’ Personal Social Media Accounts
Social media is an important tool that can be used as part of a comprehensive communications strategy
for providing time-sensitive information and increases the ability for the County to share its messages to
the widest possible audience, including audiences that might not seek information through more
established messaging channels like radio and television. Social media can help the County government
build trust with the community, solve problems, and provide a better understanding of how County
government improves the quality of life for Contra Costa County residents.
This policy establishes guidelines governing the use of social media by Contra Costa County departments
and employees for informing the public about County programs and services.
I. Definitions
Blog: A self-published diary or commentary on a particular topic that may allow visitors to post
responses, reactions, or comments.
Content: Any text, metadata, quick response (QR) codes, digital recordings, videos, graphics, photos, or
links on approved sites.
Page: The specific portion of a social media website where content is displayed and managed by an
individual or individuals with administrator rights.
Post: The act of publishing content on a site.
Profile: Information that a user provides about themselves on a social networking site.
Public Record: Includes any writing containing information relating to the conduct of the public’s
business prepared, owned, used, or retained by any state or local agency regardless of physical form or
characteristics.
Social Media Comment Policy: An external facing social media policy used to set guidelines and
protocols for public interaction with County content on social media accounts.
Social Media Representative: A County employee designated to establish and/or maintain a social media
account on behalf of the County, departments, or divisions. Each representative must be designated by
the department or division before they begin utilizing social media on the County’s behalf.
Social Media: Internet-based technology communication tools with a focus on immediacy, interactivity,
user participation and information sharing. These online technologies are operated by non-County
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hosted services and are used by the Department. Examples include but are not limited to blogs,
microblogs, wikis, social and professional networks, video or photo sharing, and social bookmarking.
Examples include but are not limited to Facebook (social networking), YouTube (video sharing),
Twitter (microblogging), Instagram (social networking), Pinterest (social networking) and
LinkedIn (professional networking). Social media should be understood to include any web-
based tool that allows for open communication on the internet, including but not limited to
micro-blog sites (Twitter,) social networking sites (Facebook, LinkedIn, Nextdoor) video-sharing
sites (YouTube,) and image-sharing sites (Instagram).
Terms of Service: The set of rules and regulations a provider attaches to a software service or web-
delivered product.
II. Social Media Usage
A. PROCESS FOR POSTING SOCIAL MEDIA: When using social media, County departments shall do the
following prior to posting content:
1) Have a business purpose in posting the media that clearly serves County objectives;
2) Review the Terms of Service for the site where the social media will be posted and, as appropriate,
obtain approval from County Counsel and the department’s CAO analyst before agreeing to the Terms of
Service;
3) Check that content to be posted complies with County policies, including but not limited to
technology use and personnel policies;
4) Ensure federal, state, and local laws are followed, including:
a) Copyright law: For example, posting a video, image (including individuals’ names or
likenesses), or music without receiving a license or authorization may violate copyright law;
b) Trademark law; and
c) Other third-party rights, including individuals’ rights of privacy, are respected.
5) Direct any questions regarding legal issues, including compliance with trademark and copyright laws,
to the Office of the County Counsel.
6) Publish using platform and tools approved by the Office of Communications and Media.
7) County departments must reset the social media password after a Social Media Representative is
removed as a social media account administrator;
8) The Office of Communications and Media reserves the right to terminate any County social media site
at any time.
B. INFORMATION POSTED ON SOCIAL MEDIA SITES
1) Social media should be used by County departments to communicate with the public, but not for
other purposes.
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2) To help prevent errors and liability issues, social media postings should be made by a Social Media
Representative for the department who has been authorized to do so by the Department Head. The
Social Media Representative shall only post content reflecting the views of the County, not his or her
personal views or concerns.
3) If a mistake occurs, the department should correct the mistake as soon as it is made aware of the
error. If an earlier post is modified, it should be clear that the posting has been corrected. Consider
designating corrections with “Fixed link” or “Fact correction” prior to the correction.
4) County departments must moderate sites that allow posts by outside users.
5) County departments may not post the following content and must remove any such content,
regardless of whether posted by the County department or outside individuals:
Electioneering for or against candidates or issues, unless such promotion or opposition is
inherently related to discussion of an item posted by the County
Information affiliated with political campaigns
Confidential information
Content that is unrelated to the post or work done by the County
Threats against any person or organization
Highly repetitive posts that amount to harassment
Obscenity, profanity, and vulgar language
Promotion of discrimination
Indication or encouragement of illegal activity
Advocacy of violence
Spam or links to unrelated sites
Promotions of services, products or political candidates or organizations
Infringement of copyrights, trademarks, or other intellectual property
Information that may compromise the safety, security, or proceedings of public systems or
any criminal or civil investigations
Personal or sensitive information (social security numbers, credit card numbers, medical
information, account numbers, banking information, phone numbers, email addresses, postal
addresses, and similar materials).
For questions about whether a posting falls within one of the above categories or whether a posting
containing content not appearing on the list should be removed, the County department should contact
the Office of County Counsel prior to taking action to remove the post.
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6) County departments should direct users back to the County’s website when appropriate and possible
for further information;
7) County departments must use branding, such as logo use, on social media postings;
8) County departments should include the Social Media Comment Policy (see Appendix A), indicating the
discussion is moderated and inappropriate content will be removed, if the profile settings can
accommodate it. If the profile settings cannot accommodate the Social Media Comment Policy, the
social media site should include a link to the policy. This Social Media Comment Policy must be
included, or a link provided to the policy, on all social media sites.
9) Direct or indirect communications between members of a legislative body, such as members of the
Board of Supervisors, commissions and/or boards, should be strictly avoided to prevent potential
violations of the Brown Act or the Better Government Ordinance. Among other precautions, members
of legislative bodies should not respond to, “like,” “share,” resend or otherwise express opinions about
any issue within the subject matter jurisdiction of the body.
C. Use of Social Media During Countywide Emergency Events
1) In the event of an emergency, County departments should coordinate all social media content with
the Office of Communications and Media, unless otherwise directed by the County Administrator.
2) To ensure that messages are consistent across the various accounts and platforms managed by the
County, with permission of the CAO, County Public Information Officer (PIO) or designee, will take the
lead in delivering County emergency information via social media and keep the CAO and the Office of
Communications and Media informed.
3) Depending upon the incident, communication managers may be asked to point to specific
departmental social media sites that will serve as the main source of information.
III. The Public Records Act & Retention of Posted Information
1) Information posted on County social media sites is subject to the California Public Records Act. Any
content that is related to the County’s business, including a list of subscribers and posted
communications, may be a public record subject to public disclosure.
2) County departments should retain subscriber information and comments posted by outside users on
County sites, including those removed by staff, for the period required by law and in accordance with
department policy. In addition, when prohibited content is removed the records must include the name
of the staff member who removed the content, and the date, time, and reason the content was
removed.
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IV. Employees’ Personal Social Media Accounts: The line between personal and professional, public,
and private can be easily blurred in social media. The following guidelines, in addition to those in the
County’s Administrative Bulletins, must be followed when using a personal social media account:
1) Personal social media accounts cannot be used for page management of County, department, or
division profiles. Additionally, staff should not use their personal social media accounts to speak on
behalf of the County or to present themselves as County representatives
2) Employees with personal social media accounts are prohibited from posting confidential information
obtained from the County, such as personnel data, medical information, and attorney-client privileged
information.
3) When commenting on County business, employees, supervisors, or policies on a personal account,
employees should take care to make it clear that their personal opinions are their own and do not
represent the official policy position of the County.
APPENDIX A
Contra Costa County’s Social Media Comment Policy:
Social media is an important tool that can be used as a channel for disseminating time-sensitive
information and as a communications tool which increases the ability of the County to broadcast its
messages to the widest possible audience and include new audiences that don’t rely on traditional
media channels.
Social media can help us build our community, improve knowledge, solve problems, and provide a
better understanding of how our work impacts the quality of life for residents. This policy governs all
sites and websites of Contra Costa County. Public comments expressed on our social media channels do
not reflect the opinions of the County, nor do we approve the content of any public postings or
commentary on our social media channels. You, as the poster, are responsible for the content of your
messages. Our social media channels are limited to discussion of matters related to the County and its
mission. We welcome all comments, questions, and concerns about these topics that foster discussion
and communication.
To further this goal, the County reserves the right to delete, hide comments, without notice, that
contain:
Electioneering for or against candidates or issues, unless such promotion or opposition is
inherently related to discussion of an item posted by the County
Information affiliated with political campaigns
Confidential information
Content that is unrelated to the post or work done by the County
Threats against any person or organization
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Highly repetitive posts that amount to harassment
Obscenity, profanity, and vulgar language
Promotion of discrimination
Indication or encouragement of illegal activity
Advocacy of violence
Spam or links to unrelated sites
Promotions of services, products or political candidates or organizations
Infringement of copyrights, trademarks, or other intellectual property
Information that may compromise the safety, security, or proceedings of public systems or
any criminal or civil investigations
Personal or sensitive information (social security numbers, credit card numbers, medical
information, account numbers, banking information, phone numbers, email addresses, postal
addresses, and similar materials).
Continued or egregious postings of this sort may prompt the County to further restrict your commenting
on official County social media platforms. The County’s use of external social media is provided as a
public service.
By commenting, you are subject to the Terms of Service of the host site. Posting comments to this site
will grant the County and anyone reading this site permission to copy, distribute, make derivatives,
display, or perform the commenter’s work.
The comments posted on this site do not reflect the views of Contra Costa County or its elected officials
and employees. Reference in any comment to a viewpoint, product, service, entity, or organization is
solely attributable to the individual commenter. Comments may not be reproduced for the purpose of
stating or implying County endorsement or approval of any viewpoint, product, service, entity, or
organization. Inappropriate comments may remain posted for a significant amount of time prior to
being noticed and deleted by an administrator; however, this should not be construed as an approval of
the comment or an exception to the comment policy.
Comments made through the County’s online locations will in no way constitute a legal or official notice
or comment to the County or any County official or employee for any purpose. Additionally, emails or
messages sent via this site may not be viewed or responded to. Communications with County elected
officials, officers and employees should be made through correspondence to their physical addresses or
County email addresses.
This policy is subject to amendment or modification at any time to ensure that use of this site is
consistent with its purpose as a limited forum.
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Office of Communications & Media
Supplemental Guide to the Contra
Costa County Social Media Policy
April 2023
Social Media Playbook
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Contents
1.Introduction
a.Using the Playbook –Who and Why?
b.When does social media work best?
2.Participation Guide
a.For employees and authorized users
3.Networks & Standards
a.Approved networks
b.Usage standards
c.Accessibility guidelines
d.Records Management
4.Public Interaction
5.Resources
z
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Introduction
1.Why use this playbook?
a.Engage and interact effectively by:
i.Leveraging best social media practices
ii.Linking online engagement targeted objectives to specific goals
iii.Accessing supplemental applications to quantify, monitor, and expand efforts toward
reaching goals
2.Who should use this playbook?
a.Administrators/users who are new to social media engagement
b.Employees designated by a department or division to establish and/or maintain a social media
account on the County’s behalf
c.Administrators/users who are already engaged in social media and want to elevate their
participation
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Participation Guide
1.Add value to your department
a.Further department mission
b.Strengthen sense of community
c.Increase transparency –encourage civic engagement
d.Solve a problem
e.Enhance public knowledge of services
2.Consider your content
a.Informal vs. official government communications
b.Proper grammar, minimize jargon and acronyms
c.Verify the facts before publishing
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Participation Guide
3. Provide proper representation
a.Only speak on behalf of the department when your commentary is
based on written standards, policies and practices or you have
received prior permission
b.Identify yourself as a representative, when necessary
4. Share links and sources
a.Direct users back to the primary source (website) for in-depth
information, forms and documents/services designed to facilitate
business within the department
b.When you reference a law, regulation, policy, provide a link or
at minimum the citation
c.Whether citing a source with a link in a post, retweeting or giving a
“shoutout,” credit and thank the original creator
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Participation Guide
5. Protect confidential information
a.Ask permission from a supervisor to publish or report on
conversations that occur within your department
b.Never post information about policies or plans that haven’t been
finalized unless you receive permission from a supervisor
c.Do not identify a partner or supplier by name or provide information
that might be proprietary in nature without their knowledge and/or
permission
6. Respect your audience and coworkers
a.Respect the privacy of others and carefully consider the discussion
of any topics that might be objectionable or inflammatory
b.Do not use your department’s social media presence to
communicate among fellow employees
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Participation Guide
7. Respond to your mistakes
a.Correct errors or inaccurate information as soon as possible, in accordance
with the Administrative Bulletin
b.Once you post, it stays posted
c.Spelling and grammar fixes OK to change –anything beyond that, make it
clear you’re correcting and apologize for the error
i.Strike through the error and correct or create a new post and link to it
from the original
8. Exercise discipline
a.Online activities should not interfere with your job or responsibility to the
public and your coworkers
9. Handle inquiries and negative comments promptly
a.Do not remove comments without approval from County Counsel
b.Seek advice from the Office of Communications and Media and/or
supervisor
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Networks and Standards
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*= preferred social media application in its technology category
^= Pre-approved for use by department
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Usage Standards
Follow these standards for consistency –we will update as
needed:
1.Display being the “official account”
2.Display official county/department logo or program graphic
3.Link to an official county website
4.Display an official department email account
5.Review site activity daily for misuse
6.No profile information such as gender, age, religion, political
views, relationship status, job/career, interests, etc.
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Usage Standards: Facebook
Trained on advanced topics such as appropriate set-up,
insights, monitoring, likes, etc.
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Standard Item Standard Setting
Type of Page Set-up as “Pages” which do not allow “Friends” to be added but only “Likes”
Information Display Department mission or program overview that informs the topic and
intent of the site
Apps Only use Facebook provided, or County authorized,applications
FB Facts &Stats
Founded in 2004
2.9 billion active users
worldwide
Resources:
•Download the Facebook Government
Guide
•www.facebook.com/FacebookPages
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Usage Standards: Facebook
1.Basics
a.Likes are better than views
b.Comments are better than likes
c.Shares
2.Pictures
a.Landscapes
b.Faces
3.Posts
a.Simple
b.Value
c.Plan
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Usage Standards: Twitter
Trained on advanced topics such as appropriate set-up,
monitoring, buttons, follows, hashtags, etc.
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Standard Item Standard Setting
Type of Page Relevant, timely and informative with the intention of assisting the department
to fulfill its mission.
Information Use discretion on whom to follow. As a general rule, only follow entities that
contribute to Contra Costa County’s business value.
Apps Setup to receive an email when direct texts are sent to the Twitter account and
where information can be retained.
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Usage Standards: Twitter
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Twitter
Use as a
“pointer”
Marketing tool
Share info
Brief
announcements
Humor &fun
facts
Instant and live
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Usage Standards: NextDoor
Trained on advanced topics such as appropriate set-up,
monitoring, etc.
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Standard Item Standard Setting
Type of Page Relevant, timely and informative with the intention of assisting the county
to fulfill its mission.
Information Use discretion on whom to follow. As a general rule, only follow entities that
contribute to Contra Costa County’s business value.
Apps Setup to receive an email when direct texts are sent to the NextDoor account and
where information can be retained.
Facts & Stats
Launched in 2008
69 million members across
290,000 active
neighborhoods across 11
countries
Resource:
•Visit Hootsuite–How-To Guide
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Accessibility Guidelines
Increase the accessibility of your social media efforts in the
following ways:
1.Provide captions for your videos
2.Title your photographs descriptively and usefully
3.Avoid acronyms
4.Make all information provided on social media accessible in
formats elsewhere (website)
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Records Management & Resources
1.California Public Records Act requires government agencies
preserve public records regardless of physical form
a.Follow your department’s records retention policy and ask County
Counsel if you have questions.
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Public Interaction –What to Monitor
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Electioneering for or against candidates or issues, unless such promotion or opposition is inherently related to discussion o f an
item posted by the County
Information affiliated with political campaigns
Confidential information
Content that is unrelated to the post or work done by the County
Threats against any person or organization
Highly repetitive posts that amount to harassment
Obscenity, profanity, and vulgar language
Promotion of discrimination
Indication or encouragement of illegal activity
Advocacy of violence
Spam or links to unrelated sites
Promotions of services, products or political candidates or organizations
Infringement of copyrights, trademarks, or other intellectual property
Information that may compromise the safety, security, or proceedings of public systems or any criminal or civil investigation s
Personal or sensitive information (social security numbers, credit card numbers, medical information, account numbers, bankin g
information, phone numbers, email addresses, postal addresses, and similar materials).
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Network Attack Protocol
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If you suspect security of an account has been compromised
a.Change login and password information immediately
b.Work with Office of Communications and Media to develop
communication strategy/response
c.Acknowledge social media breach to followers
d.Look for signs of damage, make necessary corrections
e.Contact your supervisor and report to the social media company
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Social Media Matrix
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Office of Communications and Media working to build a
foundational matrix of Countywide social media presence
a.PIOs to verify accuracy once audit is complete
Who uses?7 in 10 US
adults use,
teens use less
and more
passively.
Most popular
among tech,
marketing,
entertainment
and politically
focused people.
Millennials
though
developing
mainstream
audience since
FB acquisition.
Everyone
though
especially
popular with
millennial
generation.
Professional
from all
industry.
Teens &
millennials.Growing
among adults.
18–24-year-
olds and 13–
17-year-olds.
Adults in specific
communities.
Content Strong visuals
and videos, live
content,
Groups,
Business
pages.
280-character
limit, text
based, image
and video
content, GIFs,
Live.
Strong visuals
(image and
video/Reels)
w/artistic
aesthetic, live
and ephemeral.
How to
videos,vlogs,
education,
science, non-
profit. Live.
Thought
leadership,
professional
link sharing,
image
sharing.
Research.
Fun, ephemeral,
behind the scenes,
geofilters.
Funny
videos,
challenges,
games.
Neighborhood
hub for exchange
of information,
goods and
services.
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