MaSSSoftech

North Miami Councilman Scott Galvin hit a roadblock when he tried to e-mail his constituents during a council meeting. The reason: The city limits access to websites, external e-mail carriers and social networks.

``It's ridiculous that I can't communicate with the residents when I'm in City Hall,'' said Galvin, who constantly communicates with residents through his website and personal e-mail account.

At a recent meeting, Galvin questioned city staff about the rigid access. ``I need to be able to access my e-mail,'' he said. ``We have a beautiful laptop here and I can't access anything.''

The council directed city staff to allow e-mail access only for council members during meetings. The blocks will remain on for all other employees.

The city's Information Technology Director, Hortensia Machado, said North Miami's policy -- much like policies some other cities have -- is meant to prevent viruses. ``We cannot filter external e-mail,'' she said. ``It would be against my better judgment to allow for external e-mail.''

-- CARLI TEPROFF