The St. Cloud City Council adopted a resolution during a regular council meeting in June establishing procedures in reference to city employees texting and instant messaging procedures.

Effective immediately, city employees are prohibited from sending or receiving text or instant messages related to city business on city-issued devices and employee-owned devices.

All text messages would be public record in accordance with Florida’s Public Records Laws but, at the moment, text and instant messages are very difficult to collect, archive and make available to the public. This resolution was adopted to take a proactive step in keeping with the city’s public records objectives.

The resolution applies to all city employees and any cell phone or smart phone that the employee may own or use. However, the city manager has the authority to permit certain employees and departments to use text or instant messaging under specified conditions.

To read Resolution 2010-102R, visit www.stcloud.org > Document Center > City Council (click on +) > Agenda or Agenda Packets (click on +) > click on 6-10-2010 agenda, or call 407-957-7320/7334 for assistance.