Columbus, Georgia

POLICY AND PROCEDURE

POLICY NUMBER: 210-1000-001

POLICY TITLE: Personal Computer Policy

EFFECTIVE DATE: 06/01/99 REVISION DATE

APPROVED BY:

MAYOR CITY MANAGER

Confirmed by Council of The Columbus Consolidated Government, Resolution No.

244-99

dated the 1st. day of June , 1999 .

STATEMENT OF POLICY: The Columbus Consolidated Government (CCG) provides and

maintains personal computers for departments to increase productivity, enhance

work product and make the mission easier to achieve. The purpose of this policy

is to establish guidelines, procedures and restrictions pertaining to the

personal computer environment for the CCG.

SCOPE:

The scope of this document includes all personal computer hardware and software

owned and operated within the CCG. It is fully expected that this material may

be revised and supplemented as new products and services are introduced and

understanding evolves on how best to accommodate the information processing

needs for the CCG. This document does not cover email or Internet access. Those

issues are covered by separate policies.

RESPONSIBILITY:

It is the responsibility of the Information Technology (IT) Department to

monitor personal computer policies as authorized under Resolution No. 235-95.

It is also the responsibility of management and supervisory staff of the CCG to

monitor employees under their supervision, to assure compliance with the

provisions of this policy.

It is the responsibility of employees to adhere to all policy requirements

regarding the use of personal computers.

PROCEDURE:

1. All data from any source or for any purpose that is stored on CCG computer

equipment is the property of CCG.

2. Release of data to the public should conform to existing federal, state or

city guidelines regarding public records distribution.

3. The use of computer equipment for personal reasons is not

permitted.

4. Non-government personnel are not permitted to use city computer equipment

without department level approval.

5. Games are not permitted on city computers. I T staff technicians are

instructed to remove all games found on city computers.

6. All software on CCG computer equipment shall be rightfully licensed.

Anyone using software that is not licensed is subjecting themselves and CCG to

lawsuits. Unauthorized copying or installing of licensed software is illegal

and strictly prohibited.

7. CCG owned software cannot be installed on home computers without

justification from the department head and approval from the I T Director.

8. All computer software purchases shall be approved by the director of

Information Technology per Resolution No.235-95. Master copies of all media

shall be shipped to I T and stored in a central location (unless they are

required by the application).

9. Only software procured by the I T department will be allowed on CCG

computers. All unauthorized software when discovered, will be removed by I T

technicians.

10. All computer hardware purchase requests must be approved by the director

of I T and installed by PC technicians. Adding hardware, not purchased by the I

T department is prohibited. Unauthorized hardware when discovered, will be

removed by I T technicians.

11. Multiple desktop computer step-downs are prohibited without written

justification from the department head to the director of I T. This should be

very limited because of the time and labor involved with

installing/transferring hardware and software. (Step-downs occur when a new

computer is purchased to replace an existing computer, then that computer

? ;steps-down? to another employee.) One step-down is acceptable, but multiple

step-downs are time consuming.

12. All hardware and software purchase requests shall be submitted by memo to

the director of I T. Memos should state the justifications for the purchase,

the name of the employee that will be using the equipment and/or software and

include appropriate account numbers for charge out purposes.

13. There must be substantial justification for upgrading software

applications. Upgrading simply because a newer version is available is not

acceptable. The reasons for upgrading must be included with the purchase

request to the director of I T.

14. All hardware/software purchases will conform to the CCG brand-name

standards whenever possible.

15. There must be substantial justifications for upgrading computer hardware,

such as memory, hard drives, modems, etc. I T support staff will check hard

drives for unauthorized or frivolous software before ordering larger drives to

increase capacity.

16. CCG owned computer equipment shall not be removed from the CCG premises

without authorization of the department head.

17. ?Laptop? computers will not be purchased without justification. The

ability to work at home will not be considered sufficient justification. The

city manager will approve the purchase of ?laptop? computers following a

recommendation by the I T director.

18. Computer equipment will not be installed, uninstalled or

relocated by anyone other than I T technicians.

19. All hardware and software problems will be reported to the I T Help Desk

before talking to a PC technician.

20. Individual users are responsible for ?backing up? their local files.

Server backup procedures are the responsibility of I T staff.

21. Employees may not use another employee?s operator ID to gain access to

system resources. It is each user?s responsibility to keep their passwords

confidential. It is a violation of Georgia Law to reveal passwords.

22. Employees with G.C.I.C. (Georgia Crime Information Center) access, should

not leave their terminals logged into the system unattended for any length of

time.

23. All users should logoff host computers and turn their monitor and

printers off when they leave for the day. Users of computers and printers that

utilize power saving features should logoff all host computers, but are not

required to turn their components off.

24. Files are not to be copied from another employee?s computer without that

employee?s consent with the intent of obtaining confidential information or

idle curiosity. Data files are considered to be government property.

Supervisors may review employee files within their department for

appropriateness for legitimate business purposes.

25. When a department no longer has use for any hardware or software

components of a computer system, the components will be transferred to the I T

department. I T will maintain a repository of computer system components and

will supply users with available components as needed.

26. All computer equipment being replaced by budgeted equipment will be

returned to the I T department for redistribution, NO EXCEPTIONS.

27. Purchases of larger monitors than the accepted standard size are reserved

for C.A.D., mapping, vision impaired or special requirements.

28. Purchases of sound cards and speakers are reserved for applications that

require multi-media and needs have to be qualified.

29. Directors are responsible for their employees attending computer training

classes given by I T.

30. Employees will not modify basic configuration files.

31. Ergonomic keyboards may be ordered only with the permission of

the department head.

32. A piece of equipment that has been determined by I T to have been damaged

by an employee because of carelessness will not be covered under the I T

maintenance program. Replacement equipment will be purchased from the budget of

the responsible department.

Disciplinary Actions:

Violations of this policy may result in disciplinary actions in accordance with

CCG Disciplinary Policies, termination of system access privileges and/or

criminal prosecution, if appropriate.

Reporting Violations:

All violations of the Personal Computer Policy will be reported to the

department head that oversees the involved employee. The director of I T will

also be notified of all reported violations.

Disciplinary Responsibility:

The department head of any employee involved in a violation of the Personal

Computer Policy will be responsible for taking and administering necessary

disciplinary action and related sanctions. The department head may discuss and

seek advice from the director of

I T about the seriousness of the particular violation and recommended

sanctions; however, the department head will have final authority over the

administering of disciplinary action.

For information regarding this policy document contact the Director of

Information Technology at 653-4045.