Team Carlsbad – Hope you had a fantastic weekend and will be able to join us at 11 a.m. Thursday at the Faraday Administration Center Room 173 for our Halloween costumes and runway contest (Full details here).
Before I get to this week’s kudos, I wanted to share some friendly reminders related to election season.
Beware of online election scams
With Election Day next week on Tuesday, Nov. 5, political campaigns are well underway throughout the region, state and country. It also means election-related scams are everywhere and I want to continually encourage you to be vigilant in your online activities and work.
Be cautious of phishing emails or messages claiming to provide election information, especially if they ask for sensitive details.
If you’re donating money to a certain cause, election related or not, watch out for fraudulent donation requests or disaster relief forms.
As always, use strong passwords, multi-factor authentication and report any suspicious activity immediately in Outlook.
Many thanks to our Information Technology team for their work protecting the city, our assets and information from cyberthreats. In a given year, they block up to 365 million attempts to breach our network, protecting more than 13 million files that equate to 655 terabytes of data!
Between our IT team and each of your daily actions online, together we are doing our part to prioritize cybersecurity and protect the city.
Election activities
Speaking of the election, I’d like to remind everyone of the city’s regulations regarding employee participation in political activities.
Employees have the right to participate in political activities on their own time but not during or in the course of their work. In addition, employees may not use city resources (i.e. email, office supplies, copiers, employee time, vehicles, etc.) for or in support or opposition of political activities, including supporting a candidate or advocating for a ballot measure.
Certain regulations have been adopted to ensure that the city’s resources are applied appropriately and that employees do not feel compelled to participate in political activities.
Attached for your reference, you will find:
Carlsbad Municipal Code Section 2.44.100 through 2.44.130 describing the regulations pertaining to employee political activity
The city’s rules for campaign signs
“Do’s and Don’ts for City Officials and Employees” prepared by the League of California Cities. Although this document was prepared regarding a ballot measure the League was proposing, the regulations are also relevant to our local political activities
Additional election related information can be found on the City Clerk’s webpage.
Now, onto the kudos!
Team Carlsbad takes Citizens Academy behind the scenes
Last week marked the last session of our annual Citizens Academy, and I wanted to give a major shout out to each and every department that welcomed the community for a glimpse on how Team Carlsbad operates.
Citizens Academy started about 20 years ago and has been one of the city’s most popular programs ever since. This year’s academy filled up and we’re already gathering an interest list for next year.
A special shout out goes to Community Relations Manager Natalie Reed and Communications Coordinator Lisa Cornwall for their work in organizing each session and making sure they went off without a hitch.
Pumpkin Plunge a sold-out success
No bones about it – earlier this month, Halloween festivities at Alga Norte Aquatic Center transformed the sold-out venue into a spooky aquatic playground!
Attendees dove into the fun at the annual Pumpkin Plunge with thrilling pool activities, games, and floating obstacles. The floating pumpkin patch gave children a chance to lasso their very own pumpkin to take home. On dry land, the haunted bounce house and themed lawn games made for a scary good time.
Special thanks to the staff and volunteers who helped the community go home with memories that will last well beyond this Halloween.
Have a great week, stay safe and let’s continue to deliver those top-notch services for our community.
Scott
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