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Security Access Fob & Card Policy

Purpose

The purpose of this policy is to ensure the security and safety of any person in a facility or on the property owned by the City of Melrose (the City), the facility or grounds, and to provide the assignment, best practices and protocols for access systems in the City.

This policy outlines the procedures that must be in place to achieve these benefits and to ensure the safety of our employees, students, citizens, and property.

Scope

This policy applies to all City and School employees, departments, committees or any other entity operating under the jurisdiction of the City of Melrose and Melrose Public Schools.

Responsibility

It is the responsibility of all City and School employees, departments, committees or any other entity operating under the jurisdiction of the City or Schools to comply with this policy. It is the responsibility of the Facilities Director and IT Department to carry-out the functions of operating the security access system as well as ensuring compliance with this policy.

The benefits of following this policy includes:

  1. Security for the City’s employees, school staff and students

  2. Accountability for who is accessing City facilities

  3. Avoidance of accidental termination of security fob/card

  4. A quick and easy creation or transference of security credentials and fobs/cards

Security Fob/Card Issuance Protocols

  1. If upon hire/change of roles/need for access, an employee requires an access fob/card take these steps for notification:
    1. Schools
      1. The principal or department manager will notify the Central Office where a decision will be made to determine appropriate access for the employee getting the fob/card
      2. The Central Office will notify the DPW Asst. Dir.
      3. The  DPW Asst. Dir. will create the fob, notify the employee and their manager, and send it to the employee or employee’s manager
    2. City
      1. The department manager/director, building manager, or the Mayor or his/her designee will notify the DPW Asst Dir. & IT Department
      2. The DPW Asst. Dir. or IT Department will create the fob, notify the employee and their manager, and send it to the employee or employee’s manager.
      3. The IT Dept. will follow-up with the DPW Asst. Dir.
  2. If possible, city HR or school Central Administration will include the name of the person that the new employee is replacing. This will ensure a smooth transition of access. Note: This allows IT to transfer existing access permissions
  3. The facilities and specific rooms where access is needed will be communicated to the IT Department by the DPW Asst. Dir.
  4. In schools, the fob/card will be distributed by the school’s main office admin assistant. Employees will sign for the fob/card upon receipt.
  5. Employees will be issued only one fob/card (This shall be strictly enforced. Multiple fobs can lead to duplicates in the system making it difficult to administer. Also, employees are less likely to report a lost or stolen fob if they have a second fob to use).
  6. Fobs or cards will not be issued to temporary employees under 2 months of employment unless determined otherwise by the Superintendent, DPW Asst. Dir. or department head. Long-term substitutes or other long-term temporary employees will be eligible for a fob/card with approval.
  7. Employees having issues with their fobs/cards must put in a work order (ticket) with the IT Department to report the problem and have it addressed.
  8. Employees will not lend their fob/card to another person to use unless explicitly given permission by the Superintendent or Mayor.
  9. New employees will be issued a new fob/card. Fobs from exiting employees will be shut off upon their exit.
  10. Fobs or cards will not be issued as spares or not assigned to a person. The fob must be entered with the person’s name. For example, fobs cannot be issued to “On-call employee” or “On-Duty officer.” This makes the fob accountable to a person who can alert IT or DPW if the fob is lost or stolen.

Note: It is important for the inventory and tracking of access that the employee’s name is tied to the fob/card. Additionally, for security purposes, if a fob/card is tied to the name of an exited employee, we will terminate upon learning of the employee’s exit. This fob may have been handed to the replacement employee but if notification was not given to the IT Dept. or DPW Asst. Dir. then the IT Dept. or DPW Asst. Dir. must assume that the former employee retained the fob/card. The fob/card will always be deactivated in this circumstance.

School End-Of-Year (EOY) Procedures

  1. At the end of the school year or athletic/club/coaching etc. season, principals will collect all security fobs/cards issued to employees under his/her supervision including itinerant staff.
  2. The principal should be the only employee with a security fob through the summer months unless permission has been granted by the superintendent for access to summer program locations.
  3. Coaches in all buildings will have access revoked during the summer months unless permission has been granted for use during the summer for summer programs.
    1. Coaches can retain the fob/card until access has been reinstated.
  4. Education Stations will turn in their fobs/cards to the Director of Education Stations at the end of the school year and returned to the Central Administration office.

Lost or Stolen Fobs Procedure

  1. When a fob/card has been lost or stolen, the IT Department or DPW Asst. Dir. must be notified immediately in order to ensure the security of City or School staff and student.
  2. In the case of a loss by School staff, notification should also be sent to the DPW Asst. Dir. and the Central Administrative office.

 

Exiting Employees Procedure

  1. When an employee is exiting the employ of the City of Melrose or Melrose Public Schools for reasons such as but not limited to retirement, termination, contract termination, resignation or death, or a change in roles which no longer requires security access, take these steps for notification:
    1. Schools
      1. The principal or department manager will obtain the fob from the exiting employee.
      2. The principal or department manager will send the fob to the Central Office.
      3. The Central Office will notify the DPW Asst. Dir.
      4. The Central Office will send the fob/card to the DPW Asst. Dir.
      5. The DPW Asst. Dir. will terminate the fob/card or reissue the fob under that employee’s replacement.
    2. City
      1. The department supervisor/manager/director, building manager, or the Mayor or his/her designee is responsible for obtaining the fob/card from the exiting employee.
      2. The department supervisor/manager/director, building manager, or the Mayor or his/her designee will send the fob/card to the IT Dept.
      3. The department supervisor/manager/director, building manager, or the Mayor or his/her designee will notify the HR Dept.
      4. The HR Dept. will notify the IT department.
      5. The IT Dept. or DPW Asst. Dir.  will terminate the fob.
      6. The IT Dept. will follow-up with the DPW Asst. Dir.

Commissions, Committees & Boards

  1. Commissions, committees, & boards will be given one fob for the chairperson of the group. Exceptions to this rule can be made in the case of the City Council and School Committee.
  2. When a commission, board, committee or any group that meets as a body acting in the capacity of a committee of some sort, has a change of chairperson, the fob issued to the chairperson will be given back to the City manager responsible for that group

Double-Swipe Privileges

For a definition on “double-swipe,” please see definitions.

  1. Those employees, committee, commission, board chairpersons who need to unlock the doors at any location with double-swipe capabilities, may be given the ability to have the double-swipe ability.
  2. For commissions, committees, and boards, permission for the double-swipe feature to be added to a person’s fob must be given from the Mayor’s office and information of that ability must be relayed to the Clerk of Committees.
  3. If a person has double-swiped a card reader to keep the doors open in a building, they are responsible for double-swiping at the end of their meeting etc., to return the doors to their normal schedule (usually locked).
  4. If a person responsible for opening the doors in a building using double-swipe does not close the doors after their meeting etc., the double-swipe feature may be removed from their fob.

Maintenance of Inventory

  1. The IT Department will conduct regular evaluations of the security access system to ensure compliance with this policy
  2. Such evaluations may include:
    1. Checking information associated with employees and fob/cards;
    2. Ensuring employees are still employed by sending verification sheets to department heads, principals and other staff capable of identifying active and inactive staff

Definitions:

The City: The City of Melrose

School(s): The City of Melrose Public Schools

Fob: Device attached to a key ring allowing access at a proximity or smart access reader or a smaller sticker that can attach to a card or lanyard that can be used to gain access at a proximity or smart access reader.

Card: an access card that is read at a proximity or smart access reader

Double-Swipe: The ability for a fob/card user to use the action of swiping a card reader twice in order to keep doors unlocked in a building or in reverse order, lock all doors. Double-swipe may also refers to a door that has been programmed to allow the double-swipe function. Only specific doors have been programmed for this feature.

Employee: Any person issued a fob/card to access a facility under the jurisdiction of the City of Melrose and who is employed by the city in any capacity.

Superintendent: The Superintendent of the Melrose Public School District

Mayor: The Mayor of the City of Melrose

IT: The City of Melrose IT Department

Approved Date: 6/20/2018

Revised Dates: 8/27/2019, 08/16/2021, 03/09/2023