Effective Date: 10-12-99
Purpose And Scope
It is of fundamental importance that all public employees understand their legal and ethical responsibility to uphold the public's trust with respect to the use of public property. Town employees should likewise be aware of the responsibility to protect the public from liability for damaged personal property. This policy therefore applies to all Town employees.
Policy
A. Town Property
According to the Massachusetts Conflict of Interest Law, publicly owned or supported property, equipment, labor or services shall be used for public purposes only.Employees shall not use, while on-duty or off-duty, Town property for personal use or gain, nor shall an employee allow such use by any other individual, town, company or organization. Please refer to APP #9 and to Chapter 268A of the Massachusetts General Laws for further information on the Massachusetts Conflict of Interest Law, and to Appendix A of this policy for guidance on specific questions that may arise regarding the use of Town property.
B. Personal Property
The Town is not responsible for personal property that is stolen, lost, damaged, or in any other way altered when brought onto Town property without authorization. Employees are encouraged to take precautions with regards to their personal property and not to bring anything to work with them that is of any substantial financial or sentimental value.
The Town is not insured for damage to personal property. Under extenuating circumstances, if a department head deems that a particular item of personal property is essential to the performance of the employee or greatly enhances the employee's efficiency, he/she may submit a request to the Town Manager's Office asking for the Town to take responsibility for fixing or replacing that item if it is damaged, lost or stolen. No responsibility will be taken for items of which the department head was not informed.
Distribution: All Town Employees
APP #1 - Appendix A
Use of Town Property - Guidelines
Telephones
It is recognized that Town phones must be used for personal calls on occasion during the workday. Such personal calls must be kept to a minimum. Whenever possible, employees should make non-emergency calls during scheduled breaks or when intervals in work assignments allow. When placing personal toll calls from Town phones employees should use personal telephone cards or access codes, or call collect. If, in an urgent situation, an employee inadvertently makes a call for which the Town is billed more than one dollar, the employee will reimburse the Town for the cost of the call. This policy rescinds APP #44 (the Town's policy entitled Employee Use of Town Telephones for Personal Calls).
Office Equipment
Every effort must be made not to use office equipment such as photocopiers, printers and FAX machines for personal purposes. In circumstances where use of the machines for personal purposes is necessary and approved by the department head, the employee must limit the extent to which these resources are used.
Vehicles
Only Town employees authorized by the Town Manager or an authorized designee may operate Town vehicles, and only for Town business purposes.
a. Licenses and Age Requirement
Only employees over the age of eighteen with valid licenses, whose right to operate in Massachusetts is not suspended or revoked, may operate Town vehicles and only for public purposes approved by their supervisor. An employee whose job duties require a valid driver's license or whose job attendance or performance may be affected by the loss of a driver's license must report a suspension or revocation of a driver's license to his/her supervisor immediately. Please refer to PPP#40 on Loss of Driver's License for the Town's complete policy.
b. Passengers
Unless otherwise authorized by the Town Manager, only Town employees and other persons directly associated with Town operations shall be permitted to ride in Town vehicles. Ordinarily, no family members may be transported.
c. Use of Town Vehicles Outside the Standard Workweek
For guidance regarding the authorization for and use of Town vehicles outside the standard workweek see APP #27.
d. Safety
For more detail regarding the Massachusetts Seatbelt Law, see APP #47.
Sitting on the side of a moving truck or in the back of a moving pickup truck is prohibited.
e. Smoking
Smoking in any Town vehicle by the driver or by a passenger is prohibited.
f. Maintenance
Employees are responsible for making sure all vehicles which they drive or in which they ride are clean and neat, and they are responsible for reporting any accidents, malfunctions, mechanical problems or situations immediately to a supervisor.
g. Traffic Laws
Drivers must obey all traffic laws and must pay for all fines due to traffic or parking violations out of their own personal finances, whether they were operating a personal vehicle or a Town vehicle.
Each vehicle must contain at all times the insurance information for that vehicle. All traffic citations, verbal warnings, parking violations and vehicle accidents must be reported immediately to a supervisor, and the Massachusetts Operator's Report of Motor Vehicle Accident form must be completed. The form must be mailed or faxed to the insurance agent and a copy provided to the Assistant Town Manager. If an employee is injured, a workers compensation claim must be completed also.
Salvage and Surplus Materials
No surplus materials may be given away, auctioned off or otherwise sold without the permission of the Town Manager.
Salvage materials such as tree trimmings, bark, mulch, gravel and excavated boulders may be left at designated locations for public use. Employees are also allowed to take materials that have been left for the public as salvage, but employees may not take salvage materials during work hours or using Town vehicles.
Handling Requests for Private Use of Town Property
Employees may not allow any committee member, citizen or other organization, group or individual to use Town property for private use or for any other use than for Town business. All requests for private use of Town Property must be referred to the Town Manager's Office.
Conduct of Private Business
In no circumstances may an employee use Town property for any personal business enterprise.
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