Administrative Regulation 16.07-1

ADMINISTRATIVE REGULATION:   AR: 16.07-1 DATE APPROVED: January 12, 2016
SUBJECT: Policy for County Issued Mobile Devices ORIGINATING DEPARTMENT: Systems Management

POLICY:

It is the County’s policy to provide the highest standard of service to our community. Utilizing mobile devices improves the quality of service delivered to the Citrus County citizens. Mobile technology provides assistance with disaster recovery, and offers portable alternatives for immediate communication, enabling time and distance to be managed more effectively. For this reason, establishing guidelines should help preserve the benefits provided by cellular phones. The Administrative Regulation establishes the County’s policy for the acquisition and use of County-issued mobile devices.

PROCEDURE:
  1. Systems Management is responsible for purchasing, and supporting mobile devices such as cell phones, laptops, tablets or mobile wireless routers. The purchase of devices and services will be solicited through the Request for 
    Proposal, State of Florida contract, and/or other approved designated process. Departments, Divisions and employees are prohibited from directly purchasing mobile devices or cell service contracts.
  2. Any mobile device and recurring monthly charges must be requested by a Director and funded by the Department or Division receiving the device. Selection will be limited to those devices sanctioned by Systems. Systems Management will supply charging accessories, but protective covers or holsters must be purchased by the requesting entity. 
  3. Mobile Devices are to be used for fulfilling County duties and responsibilities only. Because mobile devices can be billed on a time-used basis, they shall not be used when a less costly alternative method of communication is safe, convenient, and readily available. 
  4. Cellular phones provided by the County are intended for County business. Personal calls by County staff when required to work extended hours shall be considered business calls. These calls shall be limited to 60 minutes per billing cycle and do not require reimbursement from the employee. 
  5. Should an employee’s personal calls exceed 60 minutes on a County -issued cellular phone, the employee is required to reimburse the County the cost of calls in excess of the 60 minutes at the current negotiated contract rate. Employees in such circumstances are required to assist the cellular phone representative for their Department/Division/Office in differentiating between business- related and personal calls, and to remit the amount owed for personal calls within 30 days of first notification. Personal use of a County issued cellular phone should not exceed 50% of the total use. The County retains the right to suspend or revoke use of a County cellular phone if personal activity is excessive. 

    Employees may elect to maintain a log of personal calls made on County-owned cellular telephones. Employees will review billing statements for cellular telephones they have used and identify personal calls they have made by clearly marking the calls and initialing the statement. A copy of the invoice highlighting the personal calls and a check payable to Citrus County Board of County Commissioners shall be submitted to the Department / Division/Office cellular representative for processing. 
  6. In those circumstances when a County-issued cellular phone is shared by more than one employee, all employees who make or receive any personal calls on such phones shall retain a record of such calls including the date, cellular telephone number, and inbound/outbound telephone number. Such employees shall then be required to assist in reconciling cellular phone bills in accordance with County procedures.
  7. Employees who conduct County business over employee-owned cellular phones may apply for reimbursement for such calls. To receive reimbursement, employees must document the date and purpose of the call and submit it with a copy of the original phone bill. The reimbursement rate is the same as the current contract rate with the County’s cellular provider.
  8. Citrus County reserves the right to audit all County -issued mobile devices and their use, which will include but not be limited to, a review of the monthly billing. 
  9. Misuse, including but not limited to excessive personal use and damage due to mishandling of a County -issued mobile device, will result in disciplinary action to the employee. 
  10. Employees are prohibited from downloading additional software and services without the approval of their Director. Any mobile applications purchased shall be at the expense the Division or Department using a County issued credit card. When the option exists to purchase an application versus ad-supported freeware, they should always purchase the application. Systems Management will create and manage the registration information for each mobile device. Under no circumstances can a BOCC mobile device be registered to an employee or a non-County email address.
  11. Connecting a mobile device to the County’s computers or networks can introduce viruses or other harmful software. Employees should exercise an abundance of caution when connecting to other computers and networks, especially unsecured wireless networks.
  12. Under no circumstances should a mobile device (County -issued or personal) be plugged into a County computer to recharge the mobile device battery.
  13. Employees are not allowed to connect their personal mobile devices to the County email system, nor store or synch County data or files to personal cloud or remote hosting services for use on a personal mobile device, 
  14. Cellular transmissions are not secure so employees shall use discretion in relaying confidential information. Sensitive or confidential County information may not be stored in an unencrypted format on mobile devices at any time. In the event a County device is lost, stolen or misplaced, Systems Management must be notified immediately so that appropriate steps can be taken to change passwords and if possible, remotely disable the device.
  15. Users of mobile devices must take the initiative to ensure their mobile devices are communicating correctly and contact Systems Management if not.
  16. Violating this policy can result in disciplinary action leading up to and including termination of employment. 

FOOTNOTES & REFERENCES TO RELATED AR’s: Supersedes AR 16.07 and eliminates 16.17 adopted May 25, 2010; AR 16.07 dated June 22, 2010.