WESTLOCK - Westlock County is moving forward with a piece of its new communications strategy and will soon enter the realm of social media, but for the first little while at least, that communication is going to be a one-way street.
Councillors discussed and ultimately passed a social media policy at their Feb. 25 meeting, with a 7-0 vote.
The policy came out of a recommendation of the communications study commissioned by council late last year to “utilize best practices, including policy development, training, and support, for adoption of Facebook as a communication tool for Westlock County. This includes providing training for staff delegated responsibility to oversee the page as to how to respond to negative comments, and how to address abusive behavior.”
Deputy reeve Brain Coleman opened the discussion by suggesting an amendment to the section guiding councillors’ use of the platform.
“If someone puts something on Facebook and we’re responding, we have to state this is our personal opinion and not the opinion of the county,” he said.
Reeve Hall was concerned with who would be allowed on the page, how it would be policed and who would make the decisions to ban, or block someone.
“Our initial plan was to start with small steps and to initiate a social media page that doesn’t allow for comments at first, until we start getting comfortable with how it works,” said CAO Leo Ludwig.
The policy includes guidance for county employees, councillors, volunteer members of Westlock County boards and committees, and contractors providing services on behalf of the county. The county’s communication specialist, with direction provided by the CAO, will be responsible for managing the county’s social media presence and coordinating social media initiatives to ensure quality, active, and effective efforts.
Coun. Fred Slobodian reminded council, “the idea of using this tool was to get information out that we felt was accurate. That’s what our intention is here. It’s not meant as a place where you sit across the table from somebody and argue back-and-forth about dumb garbage.”
Another reason to restrict comments is the lack of capability to monitor the site 24/7, said Ludwig.
“We want to take this very carefully and do it the right way in a step-by-step graduated process,” he added.
Coun. Isaac Skuban asked for some clarification about what he can post on his personal page. He said he doesn’t post about the county, but identifies himself as a councillor in his bio. He does make a number of statements on provincial and federal politics though.
Ludwig said that could potentially be troublesome.
Coun. Jared Stitsen told council he had set up a councillor page when he was elected and it has been relatively tame.
The policy document also refers to about a dozen public relations and operational risks to consider that range from ensuring all content posted is consistent with the image of the county, to refraining from endorsing businesses, organizations and individuals without a promotional agreement.
County employees who choose to interact on the platform are subject to a number of restrictions that if violated could result in termination. These include: posting images, videos, or content that may damage the reputation of the county, its operations or its employees; posting or engaging in social conversations that include criticism which is detrimental to the county’s legitimate business interests; disclosing any county information or content that employees are not specifically authorized to disclose.
This includes internal messages to employees; and posting racist, sexist or otherwise harmful or offensive content.
Coleman’s amendment was the only change council made to the draft policy before it was approved and became official.
