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Selectboard debates roll out, policies of municipal social media page

By Patrick Adrian
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BELLOWS FALLS, Vt. — The Rockingham Selectboard approved a new public policy for social media use, though some selectmen still express reservations about permitting public comments on the municipal Facebook page.

On Tuesday, the Rockingham Selectboard, by a vote of 3-1, supported a draft of policy guidelines for the town’s management of a municipally-operated social media page. The guidelines include rules of conduct for officials who communicate on the media page and the monitoring standards for public comments on the page.

Municipal Manager Wendy Harrison said that a town-run Facebook page will extend the reach of communication to the community about events that aren’t typically published or seen on municipal websites. The policy is based on the Vermont League of Cities and Towns’s model, which serves as the standard for numerous Vermont municipalities.

But some selectmen questioned whether the town’s Facebook page should enable public comments to the posted content, saying that it may put too much burden on town officials to monitor the public posts.

“If they want to make a comment, they can come to a meeting of the selectboard or village trustees,” Selectman Stefan Golec said. “It’s not a public free-for-all [there].”

Golec also expressed concern with the possibility that many in the community will wrongly perceive the Facebook page as a substitute for seeking information by telephone or direct inquiry, and expect the town to respond.

“If [a resident] asks a question and it’s not answered in a timely manner or it’s not answered accurately, it becomes a liability,” Golec said.

Harrison said that she does not believe that the town can be held liable, nor are town officials obligated to use the page to answer public questions. However, she did use South Burlington’s page as an example of how a government uses Facebook to stream live discussions, in which residents can post their questions on the live feed to the presenters.

Rockingham Executive Assistant Rebecca Allen, who was in attendance, pointed out several examples in which public comments on town pages became problematic. For instance, in cases of reported vehicular accidents or emergency responses, the public sometimes discusses information that emergency officials do not want publicly release. In other cases, the public comments spiral into personal attacks between community members.

“Not every government body has a comment feature, and they do that for a reason,” she told the board. “Because there are some people who sit at home all day and write nasty stuff, and people see it.”

Selectman Susan Hammond said that while she didn’t personally see the need to allow comments, she would allow it in the policy so long that the town publishes clear guidelines for public comments and the town reconsiders that policy if it gets out of hand.

Vice-Chair Gaetano Putignano pointed out that community posts often bring pertinent information to the community before state or local officials, such as a recent traffic closure near the intersection of Parker Hill Road and Brockway Mills Road.

“If three taxpayers want to get into a heated debate, leave it,” Putignano said. “It’s discussion. It has nothing to do with the page or the administrators. It’s the internet.”

The policy under consideration refers to the allowance of public comments in a “limited public forum.” Users of the Facebook page will not be allowed to post anonymously or under pseudonyms, and the town’s designated moderators have the right to remove posts that are obscene or inappropriate, harass, threaten, demean or solicit for commerce, just to name a few.

The board did not sign the policy because Harrison wants to include specific language that forbids any town official from creating or using an anonymous or pseudonym online. She noted its absence following this week’s removal of two police chiefs in Burlington after discovery of their online activity under false names.

This policy will also go the village trustees for their consideration next month. Stefan Golec, who voted against adopting the policy because of its intent to include public commenting, also serves on the board of trustees.

Village President Deborah Wright expressed her concern Wednesday about the inclusion of public comments, saying that she worries about the need for town monitoring could evolve into town policing of the social media activity of elected officials.

Wright said that she supports the municipality’s use of Facebook but, like Golec, believes it should be informational only and without a public comment feature. She also doesn’t want employees spending their time monitoring Facebook.

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