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06/11/09
Committee review results in updated policies for public-access TV, municipal Web site
Updated guidelines for Cape Elizabeth's public access television station, and an expanded online privacy policy and guidelines, are among recommendations of the Town Council's communications policies review committee that were approved by the full ouncil June 8, 2009.
The committee met this winter and spring primarily to discuss the first update to the guidelines governing CETV, Cape Elizabeth's public access television, since they were first adopted in 1989.
The new guidelines, according to the committee report, increase opportunities for political advocacy, remove time deadlines that the committee believed were unnecessary, and update the formal appeal procedures. The updates are in the spirit of the station's mission .. "to ensure the ability of Cape Elizabeth residents to practice their First Amendment rights through the medium of cable television," the report says.
The committee, including councilors Jim Rowe and David Sherman and chaired by Councilor Anne Swift-Kayatta,
also considered ways to enhance e-mail communication with citizens, and a review of the municipal Web site.
E-mail communication
A second committee objective, to consider more effective e-mail communication with citizens, will be handled by publishing feeds on the town's Web site.
"In lieu of the Town maintaining e-mail distribution lists, we have asked the staff to make more use of RSS feeds on the web site," the report says. "RSS feeds can inform voluntary subscribers by e-mail each day when the news stories on the home page have been updated, each time the calendar is updated and when agendas have been posted," it says.
The committee favored news feeds over traditional e-mailing of information because of the staff time involved in maintaining e-mail lists and content. Sherman, a member of the committee, said, "We think this is a good first step, and we'll see where it gets us."
Feeds are currently available for news from the town's home page, as well as the Web site's meetings calendar and the agenda page for each of the town's boards and committees. (Click here for a chart of available feeds).
Residents use a third-party service of their choosing to have new Web site content delivered either through e-mail, mobile-phone messages, personal Web pages, or simply as special bookmarks in their internet browser.
Part of the committee's consideration of e-mail communication was review of a new Web site section that publishes e-mails from citizens to the Town Council and to town boards and commissions. The committee is recommending that the section continue, governed by an addition to the existing online privacy policy:
E-mail sent using the “Contact Us” feature of the municipal Web site are public records. E-mails sent to the town’s elected officials as a group and to other standing boards and commissions may be posted on the town web site for viewing by any party. Responses of individual elected officials or appointed officials are not posted on the web site unless the official specifically directs them to the online area for e-mails. All e-mails are available by request to the Cape Elizabeth Town Clerk.
Web site evaluation
A third objective of the committee, to conduct an evaluation of the municipal Web site, is expected to be met later this summer with the help of an online survey of citizens, to be posted on the site. The committee is recommending the results of the survey be presented to the full council.
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