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HomeMy WebLinkAboutR-14-14 Broadccast PolicyRESOLUTION NO. R -14 -14 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY OF SEBASTIAN, INDIAN RIVER COUNTY, FLORIDA, ADOPTING A NEWLY REVISED "CITY OF SEBASTIAN PUBLIC BROADCAST POLICY", PROVIDING FOR TRANSFER OF AUDIO- VISUAL RESPONSIBILITY FOR COS -TV PROGRAMMING AND WEBSITE MANAGEMENT TO THE CITY CLERK'S OFFICE; PROVIDING FOR REPEAL OF RESOLUTIONS OR PARTS OF RESOLUTIONS IN CONFLICT HEREWITH, INCLUDING R- 12 -03; AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE. WHEREAS, City Council, in February 2005 by adoption of Resolution No. R- 05 -09, approved a "City of Sebastian Public Broadcast Policy' governing use of the audio - visual equipment, Government access Channel 25 (COS -TV), and the City website; and in 2012 by adoption of R -12 -03 revised the policy to address the purchase of new media hardware and software which enhanced the City's ability to provide additional programming; and WHEREAS, responsibility for COS -TV programming has moved to the City Clerk's Office - Audio - Visual Division, and the move requires some minor revisions to the Broadcast Policy to reflect the change; and provides for the sharing of responsibility for broadcast approval to the City Manager and City Clerk in consultation with the City Attorney, therefore, a revised "City of Sebastian Public Broadcast Policy" is presented for adoption by Council. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SEBASTIAN, INDIAN RIVER COUNTY, as follows: SECTION 1. ADOPTION OF NEWLY REVISED "CITY OF SEBASTIAN PUBLIC BROADCAST POLICY ". The City Council hereby adopts a new "City of Sebastian Public Broadcast Policy" dated August 27, 2014 attached hereto as Exhibit "A ". SECTION 2. CONFLICT. All resolutions or parts of resolutions in conflict herewith are hereby repealed, including Resolution No. R- 12 -03. SECTION 3. EFFECTIVE DATE. This Resolution shall take effect upon its adoption. The foregoing Resolution was passed for adoption by Council Member Hill was seconded by Council Member Gillmor and upon, being put to a vote, the vote was as follows: Mayor Bob McPartlan aye Vice Mayor Jim Hill aye Council Member Jerome Adams aye Council Member Andrea Coy aye Council Member Richard Giiilmor aye The Mayor thereupon declared this Resolution duly passed and adopted this 27th day of August, 2014. CITY OF JEBASTIAN,JKORIDA By: U� Bob McPartlan, Mayor • 1" �l Sally A. Maio, M - City Clerk Approved as to Form and Content for Relia a by the City o Sebastian Only: Robert A. Ginsburg, City Attorney an Or SEWkSTLNN HOME OF PELICAN ISLAND City of Sebastian Public Broadcast Policy City of Sebastian Television (COSty) Government Access Channels City Websites AudioNisual System Equipment Usage CITY OF SEBASTIAN TELEVISION XOSM GOVERNMENT ACCESS CHANNELS MISSION COSty is a government access cable television facility owned and operated by the City of Sebastian. COSty programming is broadcast over the Comcast cable system operating within the City limits of Sebastian which provide "government access" channels for the City's use. We also strive to make its programming available for other citizens that do not have access to the Comcast cable system via on -line streaming. The mission of COSty is to provide an informative, appealing, and mutually beneficial link between the City and its residents. The goal of the channel is to connect the people to their local government more directly, expand access to government information, and provide an additional medium for the City to respond to the needs and concerns of its residents. From gavel to gavel coverage of City Council and City Board and Committee meetings to special events programming and staff information updates, COSty is a medium used by the City to focus on issues affecting the residents of Sebastian. It is the City's goal to utilize COSty as a medium to provide information about City government and activities, to help residents make informed decisions about the community in which they live, to encourage residents to participate in the political process, and become active citizens in the City of Sebastian. POLICY The City Clerk manages the Audio - Visual Division which administers all COSty broadcasts and the City website via the Electronic Records & Information Manager. All requests for programming on the COSty "government access channel" must be submitted to the City Clerk, must be City related and provide useful and timely information to the residents of the City of Sebastian; or must be deemed to be of service to the general public. Programs may include meetings, activities, programs, events or services of City departments or other governmental agencies, or local non - profit organizations which adhere to the regulations outlined herein and are available to and of interest to the general public and are not exclusionary. Requests for COSty programming will be evaluated by the City Manager, the City Clerk, and Electronic Records & Information Manager and final decisions will be made by the City Manager and City Clerk in consultation with the City Attorney. Denial of local nonprofit organization material can be appealed to Council. The following is a list of general priorities that will apply to the City's government access channel: • Programming of an emergency nature involving public safety or health Programming of or about meetings of City Council and other City policy - making and advisory boards and committees COS Public Broadcast Policy — COSty — City Website — Audio Visual System — 08/27/2014 — Page 1 • Programming and updates from City departments • General programming of the City produced on location or in the production studio of COSty • Programming of county, state, federal or other quasi - governmental agencies • Programming provided by local, charitable and community service non - profit organizations that are of interest to the general public and not exclusionary, as approved by the City Manager and City Clerk. PERMITTED PROGRAMMING: Live Programs Live coverage will be provided of all meetings of the Sebastian City Council and most other City Boards and Committees, which take place in the City Council Chambers. All live meeting coverage will be from gavel to gavel. Live coverage stipulations: ■ Live coverage of all City Council meetings will take precedence over all other programming on COSty, except in the case of an emergency. ■ All City Council meetings and workshops will be aired live as scheduled and rebroadcast on a fixed schedule as determined by the City Clerk and AV Staff. ■ Most City Boards and Committees will be aired live as scheduled and rebroadcast on a fixed schedule as determined by the City Clerk and AV staff. ■ City government meetings held in any location other than the City Council Chambers may be taped on- site and rebroadcast at a later date on a fixed schedule as determined by the staff Communications Committee. ■ Political debates and candidate forums conducted by local charitable and community service non - profit organizations will be shown live when scheduled as approved by the Sebastian City Council. Such organizations, when requesting to host a political debate and /or candidate forum, shall provide the City Council with verifiable information establishing their competence and experience in hosting at least one prior political debate or candidate forum in accordance with the requirements of this paragraph. City shall not air political programming or campaigning by or on behalf of any candidate for public office. Use of the channel by elected officials seeking re- election or candidates seeking election is prohibited except in balanced non- partisan open forum programming formats or regularly scheduled government meetings. Current elected officials seeking re- election may be shown in the performance of their official duties at regularly scheduled meetings or incidental appearances in other programming but may not use the format to further their individual campaigns. Delayed Programming o City Programs Programs by the City, including City meeting rebroadcasts, programs for City departments, issues related to City government or with groups/ committees/ boards that are affiliated with City government, may be rebroadcast on COSty. a City Sponsored Special Events City sponsored or hosted special events may be rebroadcast on COSty. o Other Governmental Agency Programs COS Public Broadcast Policy — COSty — City Website — Audio Visual System — 08/27/2014 — Page 2 Programs produced by municipal, state, federal, and /or quasi - governmental agencies that can be purchased, rented or borrowed are permitted for rebroadcast on COSty, if they are deemed to be of interest to and beneficial to the general public. o Non- Profit Organization Programs Programs produced by local, charitable and community service non- profit organizations may be rebroadcast upon review and approval by the City Manager and City Clerk. The City may choose to broadcast externally - prepared programs if they meet policy and quality requirements and are not in violation of copyright law. o Emergency Programming Emergency programming in conjunction with Indian River County Emergency Management or other state or federal agencies will take precedence over all other programming. City of Sebastian Slides (Media Play) Whenever there is no other City meeting being broadcast live or in delayed rebroadcast, or any special programming scheduled for COSty, a City bulletin board to be known as "Sebastian !News and Notes" will be broadcast. All requests for posting on "Sebastian News and Notes" will be submitted by work order to the City Clerk's office - AV Division with beginning and ending dates, will be scheduled to run on a random basis within the COSty schedule and then be automatically eliminated at the specified end date. Information submitted for programming should be brief and to the point and use fonts of at least 24 or higher. (See AV programming guide attached hereto) Permitted Postings • City meeting agendas and notices • City Job listings • City contact information • Law Enforcement information • City sponsored activities /programs /special events /recreation • City board vacancies • Election Information • Notices of other governmental agencies, i.e., county, school, library • Emergency information (which takes precedence over all programming) • Athletic, recreation and special activities available in the nonprofit community for the general public at the discretion of the City Manager and City Clerk Prohibitions for All Programming on COSty (Live, Delayed and Bulletin Board) • Commercial programs and messages • Programming that does not include copyright clearances • Endorsements of political issues or proposed ballot items (general election information, precincts and ballot information provided by elections officials is permitted) • Information concerning any lottery, gift enterprise, or similar promotion • Direct solicitation of funds COS Public Broadcast Policy — COSty — City Website — Audio Visual System — 08/27/2014 — Page 3 • Material that would violate any federal, state, county or city statute or law • Material that promotes a particular religious belief or philosophy • Obscene, indecent or defamatory material as defined by City ordinance or community standards • Programming that discriminates or fosters discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, family status, age, disability, sexual orientation, veteran status, or any other status or condition protected by applicable state or federal laws • Any material inappropriate to the mandate, mission, goals, and priorities of the City of Sebastian • The City reserves the right to reject and /or edit programs submitted for broadcast and /or to display disclaimers Program Editing Policy • Live coverage of City meetings and delayed programming of other governmental meetings shall not be edited or subjected to editorial comment. Meeting coverage will be from gavel to gavel in accordance with Florida public records law. • The City reserves the right to reject and/or edit recorded special events programs, including both those recorded by the City and those provided to the City by outside sources, for time and content. Liability The City will not be responsible for the accuracy of any information broadcast over its government- access channel for programming provided by outside sources. PROCEDURES Management of City of Sebastian Government Access COSty COSty will be administered by the City Clerk's Office -AV Division under the direction of the Office of the City Clerk, and in coordination and cooperation with the City Manager's Office, and consultation with the City Attorney. Requests for Programming Requests for broadcast of programming from outside sources on COSty must be submitted to the City Clerk's Office -AV Division at least 30 days prior to the anticipated start. COSty is not a public access channel and submittal of a request does not in any way guarantee approval of the request. City departments and divisions requesting programming must be willing to assist in the production. Individuals requesting programming must obtain all on -site approvals and off -site legal permits and permissions in writing for taping from property owners, business owners, performers, event coordinators, etc. prior to submitting request forms. The preferred method of delivery for programming is DVD. Other methods of delivery may be available but are not always guaranteed to be available. If a DVD is not available, Videos need to be in AVI, MPEG, MP4 or other formatting that a windows machine can open without additional software. Programming must be 480i (720x480) or better. If outside programming has to be converted to a format that will operate on the COSty system, there may be a facilities' charge for such conversion. Determination of such charge will be made at the time the material is submitted. The City of Sebastian reserves the right to refuse items if these requirements are not met as well. If possible, recordings shall have at least thirty (30) seconds of color bars and tone at the head of the program and at least five (5) seconds of black at the breaks and end of the program. COS Public Broadcast Policy — COSty — City Website — Audio Visual System — 08/27/2014 — Page 4 All material submitted for broadcast from an outside source producer will be previewed by AV Division for the following technical criteria: (a) Technical quality — Video and audio quality must be at acceptable levels as determined by staff. (b) Relevance of Subject Matter Content— subject matter must be of interest to the general audience and serve a governmental purpose, and must not be exclusionary or discriminatory. (c) Relevance and Appeal— program must be relevant to the needs and interests of Sebastian residents and its visitors. (d) Absence of Defamatory Material— subject matter that slanders or libels individuals or organizations will NOT be broadcast. Requests for copies of meetings /programs aired on COSty will be charged in accordance with the current fee set out in the City's Records Management Policy for DVDs. The copy shall include the entire program. City staff will not custom -edit portions of any program. If DVDs are mailed, postage and handling will be charged prior to mailing. Retention. of Broadcasts Content of meeting slprograms produced or created by any other entity remain property of that entity but the copied medium will be kept on file with the City for at least two years in accordance with Florida records law. Content of meeting slprograms produced or created by the City remain property of the City for at least two years in accordance with Florida records law, and may be retained indefinitely by the City for historical purposes. Broadcast Schedules The City Clerk's Office — AV Division in coordination with the City Manager shall approve a complete broadcast schedule 24 hours per day, seven days per week. This schedule, with updates made on a regular basis, shall be placed on the City website and transmitted to each cable system that carries COSty programming for publication on their program guide channel. All material that is submitted for airing on COSty shall include start and end dates. Material will be scheduled to run at the times specified with the COSty schedule and will be automatically eliminated from the schedule at the specified time end date. CITY OF SEBASTIAN WEBSITE MISSION The City website www.cityofsebasti2n.org and its subsidiary websites (see below) are provided to communicate up -to -date information to the residents of the City of Sebastian on City Council, City Boards/Committees, City departments, agenda packets and minutes, legal notices, meeting calendar, employment, licensing and permitting, City codes, bids, public records, elections, municipal services such as the police department, municipal cemetery, golf course, airport, parks, public works, and economic development. The City website provides public access to most permanent and long term City public records via Laserfiche Weblink. http://www.sebastianbusiness.Gom/ hftp://www.sebastianretirement.com/ httR: / /www.sebastianpd.oLgl http : / /www.sebastiangolfcourse.ora/ http: //www.sebastianairport.org/ COS Public Broadcast Policy — COSty — City Website -- Audio Visual System — 0$12712014 — Page 5 http:Hparks.cityofsebastian.orq hftp://sebastiannrb.com htt :1 /commctr.cit ofsebastian.or http://citvofsebastian.org and any other websites established by the City. POLICY The City of Sebastian website is limited to: • Information about departments, programs and services of the City government • Information or links for other governmental units; or • Information or links for City - sponsored events or tenants /partners in City enterprises • Access to all City records that have been digitally imaged • Links to the Municipal Golf Course, Municipal Airport, Economic Development, CRA and Retirement websites At its discretion the City may provide links to external websites of educational and other governmental agencies and organizations, organizations that provide government related information and/or services not available on an official government website such as Code of Ordinances, elections information, etc., information of relevance to the general public relative to recreation programs offered, and services that support the strategic and operational goals of the City. The City reserves the right to determine how and where external links will appear on its web site. The Communications Committee will make the final determination on requests for placement of information on the website. The City Websites will not provide links to sites that promote or exhibit bias, discrimination, pornography, libelous or otherwise defamatory content. The information posted on the City Websites includes links to information created and maintained by other public and /or private organizations. The City provides these links solely for the information and convenience of users of the City Website. When users select a link to an outside website, they are leaving the City of Sebastian Website and are subject to the privacy and security policies of the owners /sponsors of the external website. PROCEDURE All City websites are managed by the City Clerk's Office - AV Division. Each department of the City is responsible for providing the AV Division with up -to -date information. Departments are responsible for posting and removing the information by written work order. Information for posting must be received by AV at least four (4) business days prior to desired posting, with some exceptions for time constraints such as agendas, meeting notices and emergency notices. Messages should be brief and to the point and special elements (photos, logos, artwork) must be provided at time of submission and are subject to editing. AUDIO VISUAL SYSTEM MISSION It is the intent of the City of Sebastian to provide state -of- the -art technology for the purpose of disseminating up -to -date information to the residents of the City of Sebastian as quickly and efficiently as is possible, and to provide user - friendly technology for meetings of boards, committees and staff of the City. COS Public Broadcast Policy — COSty — City Website — Audio Visual System — 08/27/2014 — Page 6 POLICY AND PROCEDURE The AV Division, under the direction of the Office of the City Clerk, will administer use of the City's AudioNisual studio, located in the City Council Chambers and AV offices to provide the following: • Live broadcasts of City government meetings on COSty • Audio /visual training for City staff to conduct programs not broadcast live • Ability to provide other live programming and recorded in -house training programs • 24 hour bulletin board "Sebastian News and Notes" (Media Player) for notices and information • Rebroadcasts of meetings, special events and other programming as set out in the COSty Section of this policy • City Website to provide up -to -date information to the residents of Sebastian In addition to fixed equipment within the A/V studio, additional equipment is available for use by City staff or meeting attendees /presenters: • Laptop • Elmo • TVs and DVD recorders /players • Portable TV Camera with recorder and associated portable /wireless audio • Complete video -audio editing system • Audio record facilities including a sound booth and editing Use of Equipment and Facilities Use of City -owned equipment and facilities is restricted to authorized City activities and may be operated only by authorized personnel. Requests to utilize City equipment, set out above, for presentations at meetings and other programs must be received by AV Division at least two days prior to the requested date of the presentation to allow time for viewing of the material to ensure that it meets the criteria set out in this policy. Presenters are asked to utilize City equipment and to ensure that their presentation media is compatible with our equipment by making sure that the presentation is received in a timely manner. If there is any question as to content of the program, a final decision will be made by the City Clerk and City Manager. Loaning of equipment for personal or outside use is strictly prohibited The AV Division will maintain a comprehensive list of all audio /visual equipment currently owned and operated by the City for uses set out in this manual. A user manual shall be provided and training sessions completed before use of the equipment by any City employee for purposes of conducting meetings, trainings, etc. Keys to the A/V studio are held by AV Division, Facilities and the Office of City Clerk. 'Users must sign out a set of keys from the Office of City Clerk. (in or out?) COS Public Broadcast Policy — COSty — City Website — Audio Visual System — 08/27/2014 — Page 7