TO: HONORABLE MAYOR
AND CITY COUNCIL
FROM: Toni Taber
SUBJECT: See Below DATE: September 20, 2024
Approved Date:
COUNCIL DISTRICT: Citywide
SUBJECT: New City Council Policy for Seamless Transition of City Elected Official Offices
RECOMMENDATION
Adopt a resolution approving a new Council Policy No. 0-47 Transition of Elected Officials for an effective transition between incoming and outgoing Mayor and Councilmembers, including the standard use and ownership of digital marketing and communications assets, software access and administration, use of City-based accounts, asset inventories, physical equipment, and other transition activities.
SUMMARY AND OUTCOME
The City Council recognized the need for a policy1 to govern the transition of digital solutions and physical equipment to newly elected Mayor and City Council Offices, ensuring a consistent transition during changes in elected officials while maintaining services to community members throughout these transitions.
The proposed Council Policy No. 0-47 “Transition of Elected Officials” will provide guidelines and requirements for an effective transition, including the ownership and registration of digital marketing and communications assets, software access and administration, use of City-based accounts, asset inventories, physical equipment, and transition processes. See Attachment A for the proposed Council Policy No. 0-47 draft. 1 The need for a policy to govern transitions of elected officials was recommended in the memorandum to the Joint Meeting for the Rules and Open Government Committee and Committee of the Whole on September 21, 2023, titled “Creation of a City Council Policy for Uniform Transitions During Changes in Elected Officials.” Source: https://sanjose.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=F&ID=12319136&GUID=F496AAF1-16A4- 47C1-AE59-19185DB0F06C
COUNCIL AGENDA: 10/22/2024
FILE: 24-2098
ITEM: 3.5
HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
September 20, 2024
Subject: Proposed City Council Policy for Seamless Transition of City Elected Official Offices
BACKGROUND
A standardized process for centralizing administrative access and transitioning digital assets, such as software accounts, is needed to ensure a smooth transition between outgoing and incoming elected officials such as the Mayor and City Councilmembers.
In previous transitions for City Council District Offices, service interruptions occurred due to either delayed or failed transitions that led to the inability of incoming Councilmembers’ staff to access existing social media accounts, web platforms, and mailing lists. Security and privacy policies of technology companies make it a long and difficult process to reestablish access, leading to inconvenience and confusion for residents in affected parts of the City due to service interruption. In contrast, some districts have executed thorough and detailed transition plans for newly elected officials and their staff. These plans have included software licensing, web platforms, databases, equipment, communications to constituents, and vendor handoffs.
On September 27, 2023, the Rules and Open Government Committee approved the recommendation for the City Manager and City Attorney, in collaboration with the City Clerk and the Information Technology Department (ITD), to evaluate the feasibility of a City Council policy that would standardize transitions for the Mayor and City Councilmembers2.
ANALYSIS
City staff evaluated the feasibility of a City Council policy to standardize transition for the Mayor and City Councilmembers:
• Analyzed the current technology used by the Mayor and City Councilmembers; • Conducted market research on technology tools and functionality to fit resident service delivery needs;
• Researched laws and regulations to ensure compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act accessibility, State of California Assembly Bill (AB) 1637, cybersecurity, records retention, etc.;
• Communicated with government affairs staff from technology companies to clarify administration processes;
• Collaborated internally with various departments to align on strategy; and, • Assessed staff capacity resulting from budget actions in FY 2023-2024 and FY 2024-2025.
The proposed Council Policy No. 0-47 establishes minimum guidelines to ensure an effective transition with no additional staff needed. The proposed Council Policy includes guidelines requiring City-based accounts for all software and services for City business, equipment inventory requirements, website domain requirements, and processes for on-boarding and off-boarding City Council staff.
2 https://sanjose.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=F&ID=12319136&GUID=F496AAF1-16A4-47C1-AE59-19185DB0F06C
HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
September 20, 2024
Subject: Proposed City Council Policy for Seamless Transition of City Elected Official Offices
Below are responses to the eight recommendations outlined in the memorandum to the Joint Meeting for the Rules and Open Government Committee and Committee of the Whole on September 21, 2023, titled “Creation of a City Council Policy for Uniform Transitions During Changes in Elected Officials.” These responses are included in the proposed Council Policy 0-47.
Recommendation #1: Mayor and City Council Offices to use City-based accounts for ownership and access credentials for social media, website domain registrations, constituent databases, and software subscriptions, as well as require administrative accounts for the Information Technology Department and/or the City Clerk to administer costs, contracts, and transitions when there is a change in elected officials. Data is not to be shared with any other department or office and must be safeguarded.
Response
The analysis of the current inventory of software, web platforms and domains, and social media accounts revealed that multiple technologies are being used among City Council Offices to achieve the same outcomes in terms of marketing email, CRM, web hosting, and social media. Technologies used among City Council Offices lack consistency.
To ensure City communication reach a wide and diverse community of San José, the City uses multiple tools. The City will provide newly-elected officials with core accounts and software, including social media, e-mail communications, and access to the City website to update or create City Council Office webpages.
Use of City-based accounts for all software and services used for City business: All software and service accounts used for City business (e.g., social media, e-mail marketing, software subscriptions) must originate from an active City-based account. The Mayor and City Councilmembers may not convert their campaign social media accounts into an official government account. Using a City-based account rather than a personal account will allow ITD to control roles and permissions and offer an effective transition for the next elected Mayor and Councilmembers.
Accounts not in compliance by the next election cycle must be updated accordingly by the appropriate Mayor and Councilmember Offices.
In alignment with the City’s Customer Service Initiative, constituent data should be accessible to City departments and other offices to better serve residents.
Information gathered that is deemed confidential should not be disclosed to any other department or office to ensure its protection.
Website Domain Registrations: In accordance with California ABl 1637, all local agencies that maintain an internet website for use by the public are required
HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
September 20, 2024
Subject: Proposed City Council Policy for Seamless Transition of City Elected Official Offices
to have a “.gov” or “.ca.gov” domain by January 1, 2029. City Policy 1.7.9 Website and Digital Services Governance enacts the policy and procedures for website domains, including responsibilities and technical definitions. ITD acquires, maintains, and administers website domains per City Policy.
Equipment: ITD ensures asset management for all ITD items and Public Works Department (DPW) for standard items (e.g., digital cameras, furniture). The City Clerk ensures the inventory list from the Mayor and City Councilmembers is regularly updated.
Recommendation #2: Consistent with Assembly Bill 1637, provide a general plan for the City to adopt “.gov”, coordinate City ownership of registrations by the City’s Information Technology Department and/or the City Clerk and applying security and privacy standards set per City Council policy.
Response
California Governor Gavin Newsom signed AB 16373 into law on October 8, 2023. The bill requires local agencies that maintain an internet website for use by the public to have a “.gov” or “.ca.gov” domain by January 1, 2029.
City Administrative Policy 1.7.9, the Website and Digital Service Governance policy, outlines the management and governance of the City of San José website, sanjoseca.gov, including all sub-sites and transactional applications. It includes Citywide standards and rules, a framework for creating clear content, digital service management responsibilities, and inclusive access, among other guidelines. To comply with AB 1637, City Administrative Policy 1.7.9 will be updated in FY 2024-2025 to include a clear set of criteria and procedures to request subdomains of the City’s domain, sanjoseca.gov.
After the policy is updated, the City Manager’s Office of Communications and ITD will start the preliminary review and plan for transition.
Recommendation #3: City-based social media accounts are to be set as business accounts for the use of the office and should be used as the primary account for constituent communications.
Response
Staff conducted research on the feasibility of business accounts for over ten social media software and concluded that most did not have an additional cost.
3 The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency within the federal Department of Homeland Security sponsors the “.gov” top-level domain and makes it available solely to United States-based government organizations and publicly controlled entities, including California’s local agencies.
Source: https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240AB1637
HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
September 20, 2024
Subject: Proposed City Council Policy for Seamless Transition of City Elected Official Offices
Due to City staffing resources, setting social media accounts to business accounts are the responsibility of the Mayor and Councilmember Offices.
City Council staff should transition all social media accounts to business accounts in consultation with ITD.
Recommendation #4: Optimize a smooth transition experience for outgoing and incoming elected officials to ensure the residents of San José are always served.
Response
The Office of the City Clerk coordinates with ITD, DPW, Human Resources, and the City Manager’s Office to prepare for incoming and outgoing Mayor and City Councilmembers transitions.
The Office of the City Clerk will provide a briefing to newly elected (incoming) officials and offices before assuming office. On-boarding items may include, but are not limited to, the following outlined below.
1. Staffing and hiring;
2. Mayor or City Council Office budget review;
3. Mayor or City Council Office non-personal/equipment procurement; and
4. Council Policy 0-38 - City Council Expenditure and Reimbursement Policy.
Off-boarding items for outgoing officials and offices that the Office of the City Clerk will coordinate include, but are not limited to, the following listed below.
1. Final reconciliation of budgets, including grants;
2. Collecting returned inventory, as detailed in Recommendation #5;
3. Deactivate procurement cards; and
4. Staffing and Notice of Separation.
The City Manager’s Office will provide and coordinate an orientation to Mayor and Councilmembers on City departments and functions. The City Attorney’s Office will assist City Manager, City Clerk, and others in providing necessary trainings to Mayor and Councilmembers on topics including, but not limited to, the Brown Act, Public Records Act, or other legal matters.
Recommendation #5: Ensure the Clerk’s Office maintains a checklist of all City owned and purchased assets, both digital and physical.
Response
HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
September 20, 2024
Subject: Proposed City Council Policy for Seamless Transition of City Elected Official Offices
The Office of the City Clerk maintains an internal document for transition processes for incoming and outgoing Mayor and City Councilmembers, which details responsible parties, items procured, and assignment of ownership.
Under the proposed Council Policy No. 0-47, each Mayor and City Councilmember will be responsible for maintaining an inventory checklist of all City-owned and purchased assets, including web-based software4. A template for this checklist will be provided by the Office of the City Clerk and coordinated with ITD and DPW; the Mayor and City Council Offices will provide shared access to the Office of the City Clerk with quarterly updates (including any new assets procured) throughout their term. See Attachment B for an example.
Each outgoing Mayor and City Councilmember will provide the Office of the City Clerk the inventory list containing a final list of all assets before leaving, that will, in turn, be provided to the incoming Mayor and City Councilmembers. All branded items (i.e., promotional items and marketing material) that cannot be used by the next elected Mayor and City Councilmember, but were paid for with City funds, must remain with the City, and shall be transferred to DPW for surplus.
Recommendation #6: Anything else related to the transition of elected officials that staff identifies as applicable.
Response
The proposed Council Policy No. 0-47 establishes minimum guidelines for an effective transition of the administrative functions of the Mayor and City Councilmembers.
4 This inventory list shall include, but not be limited to laptops, tablets, phones; large purchases used for constituent events, such as canopies, tables, and lecterns; office supply purchases, such as sit-stand desks and ergonomic chairs; and software. Consumables or small accessories, such as pens, swag, notepads, or charging cables would be excluded. Web-based software may include social media, photo and video sharing, wikis, blogs, etc. Please refer to City Policy 1.7.7 for additional information.
HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
September 20, 2024
Subject: Proposed City Council Policy for Seamless Transition of City Elected Official Offices
Recommendation #7: Address and evaluate any potential legal issues.
Response
This memorandum and the draft Council Policy No. 0-47 have been reviewed by the City Attorney’s Office.
Recommendation #8: Exemptions should apply for the continued use of previously created and in-use social media accounts, as well as for domains/websites of the current Mayor and Councilmembers until a change in elected official occurs, however login credentials and account ownership should be provided to the appropriate city department.
Response
The proposed Council Policy No. 0-47 provides the structure to prevent lapses in constituent communication and services between transitions. Exemptions to this policy will risk an inefficient transition of such services and communication, therefore, both the City Manager’s Office and City Clerk’s Office strongly recommend all current Mayor and City Councilmembers officially transition to Council Policy No. 0-47.
If current Mayor and City Councilmembers have software and service accounts not connected to City-based accounts, they must update these accounts from personal accounts to City-based accounts by the end of 2024.
EVALUATION AND FOLLOW-UP
The draft Council Policy No. 0-47 is recommended for City Council approval prior to the November 5, 2024 election, to ensure constituents receive services during transitions.
COST SUMMARY/IMPLICATIONS
No cost implications exist to implement Council Policy 0-47.
COORDINATION
This memorandum has been coordinated with the City Attorney’s Office, City Manager’s Office, City Manager’s Budget Office, City Manager’s Office of Communications, DPW and ITD.
HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
September 20, 2024
Subject: Proposed City Council Policy for Seamless Transition of City Elected Official Offices
PUBLIC OUTREACH
This memorandum will be posted on the City’s Council Agenda website for the October 22, 2024 City Council meeting.
COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION AND INPUT
No commission recommendation or input is associated with this action.
CEQA
Not a Project, File No. PP17-008, General Procedure and Policy Making resulting in no changes to the physical environment.
PUBLIC SUBSIDY REPORTING
This item does not include a public subsidy as defined in section 53083 or 53083.1 of the California Government Code or the City’s Open Government Resolution.
TONI TABER
City Clerk
For questions, please contact Toni Taber, City Clerk, at [email protected]. or Khaled Tawfik, Chief Information Officer, ITD, at [email protected].
ATTACHMENTS –
A - City of San José, California COUNCIL POLICY
B - Sample Technology Inventory List
Attachment A
City of San José, California
COUNCIL POLICY
TITLE TRANSITION OF ELECTED
OFFICIALS
PAGE
1 of 5
POLICY NUMBER
0-47
EFFECTIVE DATE REVISED DATE
APPROVED BY COUNCIL ACTION
DRAFT--Contact the Office of the City Clerk at (408) 535-1260 or [email protected] for final document.
PURPOSE AND SCOPE
The City of San José (City) residents and businesses are best served by a standardized and seamless process for transitioning newly elected Mayor and Councilmembers into their new roles.
The purpose of this policy is to establish guidelines for an effective transition regarding the standard use and ownership of digital marketing and communications assets, software access and administration, use of City-based accounts, asset inventories, physical equipment, staffing and budget administration, and other transition activities.
POLICY
Following these procedures will support a seamless transition between incoming and outgoing Mayor and Councilmembers with the intent to facilitate service continuity and ensure constituents are served well through and after the transition.
1. RESPONSIBILITY
A. Mayor and Councilmembers
The Mayor and Councilmembers shall be responsible for being in compliant with the policy and maintaining a regularly updated inventory list of technology and physical equipment in coordination with the appropriate departments (City Clerk, Information Technology (ITD), Public Works (DPW).
B. The Office of the City Clerk
The Office of the City Clerk shall lead and coordinate the transition for newly elected and outgoing Mayor and Councilmembers.
C. The City Manager’s Office
The City Manager’s Office shall support the transition for newly elected officials and provide an overview of City departments and functions.
D. The City Attorney’s Office
The City Attorney’s Office shall support the City Manager, City Clerk and others in the transition for newly elected officials and assist in providing necessary trainings, such as on the Brown Act, Public Records Act or other legal matters.
E. Information Technology Department
ITD shall support the transition for newly elected Mayor and Councilmembers by ensuring ITD asset management for all information technology items. ITD will be the designated super user administrator for social media accounts and administer software technology contracts.
F. Public Works Department
DPW will support the transition for newly elected Mayor and Councilmembers and ensure DPW asset management for standard physical items.
2. TRANSITION
The Office of the City Clerk coordinates with City departments (ITD, DPW, Human Resources, and the City Manager’s Office) to prepare for incoming and outgoing Mayor and Councilmembers transitions.
A. On-boarding
The Office of the City Clerk will begin the transition process for newly elected officials after the final election results, prior to assuming office. On- boarding items may include, but are not limited to, the following:
1. Staffing and hiring.
2. Mayor or Council Office budget review.
3. Mayor or Council Office non-personal/equipment procurement.
4. Council Policy 0-38 “City Council Expenditure and Reimbursement Policy.”
The City Manager’s Office will provide and coordinate an orientation to Mayor and Councilmembers on City departments and functions. The City Attorney’s Office will assist City Manager, City Clerk, and others in providing necessary trainings to Mayor and Councilmembers on topics including, but not limited to, the Brown Act, Public Records Act, or other legal matters.
Training outside the transition period can be provided upon request as new staff joins the City.
B. Off-boarding
Off-boarding items for outgoing Mayor and Councilmembers will be coordinated by the Office of the City Clerk and may include, but are not limited to:
1. Final reconciliation of budgets, including grants.
2. Collecting returned inventory.
3. Deactivate procurement cards.
4. Administering staffing and notices of separation.
3. ADMINISTRATION OF TECHNOLOGY
The City will provide newly elected Mayor and Councilmembers with core accounts and software to social media, e-mail communications, and web platforms. To ensure continued services to constituents with no lapse, all outgoing Mayor and Councilmembers must transition communication accounts and software to the incoming Mayor and Councilmembers.
Use of City-based accounts for all software and services used for City business: All software and service accounts used for City business (e.g., social media, e-mail marketing, constituent database, software subscriptions) must be connected to users with an active City-based account. The Mayor and City Councilmembers may not convert their campaign social media accounts into an official government account. All official City business communication must originate from a City-based account.
City-based social media accounts are to be set as business accounts for the use of the office and should be used as the primary account for constituent communications.
Website Domain Registrations: In accordance with California AB 1637, all local agencies that maintain an internet website for use by the public are required to have a “.gov” or “.ca.gov” domain by January 1, 2029. City Administrative Policy
1.7.9 Website and Digital Services Governance enacts the policy and procedures for website domains including responsibilities and technical definitions. ITD acquires, maintains, and administers website domains per City Policy 1.7.9.
Equipment: ITD will manage the lifecycle of ITD equipment, DPW will manage assets including, but not limited to, furniture, City badges, and fleet vehicles, and the City Clerk will manage the budget and procurement of ITD equipment for the Mayor and Councilmembers and ensure the inventory lists are regularly updated.
The Office of the City Clerk will oversee an exhaustive inventory list from all Mayor and Councilmembers. Mayor and Councilmembers are responsible for maintaining an updated inventory list of technology and physical equipment. This list must be updated quarterly.
Each outgoing Mayor and Councilmembers will provide the Office of the City Clerk a final inventory list to provide to the incoming elected official. All branded items (i.e., promotional items and marketing material) that cannot be used by the next elected Mayor and Councilmembers, but was paid for with City funds, must remain with the City, and shall be transferred to DPW Surplus.
Attachment B
Sample Technology Inventory List
Device Asset Tag Phone number, if
applicable
Assigned to / Status
(Employee Using / Lost /
Stolen)
Notes (e.g. date
obtained)
Laptop CSJ12345 N/A Chief of Staff Alfred
Pennyworth- Lost
Reported lost
01/01/2024
Laptop CSJ12346 N/A Chief of Staff Alfred
Pennyworth
replaced CSJ12345
Cell
Phone
CSJ11111 408-535-0000 Councilmember Bruce Wayne
Tablet CSJ22222 408-535-1111 Councilmember Bruce Wayne
Ergo
Chair
N/A N/A Barbara Gordon per ergo eval
10/11/2023
Canopy N/A N/A Stored at Gotham City
Community Center storeroom
customized with CM
Bruce Wayne's logo;
Tables N/A N/A Stored in Gotham City
Community Center storeroom
5 tables for events;
obtained 04/01/2023.
Note: All data shown in table are fake sample data.