On February 10, 2023, UPE met with the County regarding the above-updated policy.
The County updated the policy to reflect a change in title from CMO (Communications and Media Officer) to PIO (Public Information Officer), to which UPE had no objection. We asked the County for clarification regarding employees being provided contact information for the PIO. The County stated there is an internal document for employees to access that informs them of who the PIO is. UPE also requested clarification surrounding staff making statements to the media; currently, the policy reads as if staff would make joint statements with the spokesperson. This is not the case, and the County will send a revision clarifying that issue.
Thank you to the participants,
Jennifer Avalo and Monica Stephens