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MUNICIPALITY OF THE DISTRICT OF YARMOUTH
Social Media Policy
S-088-21
Effective Date:
September 23, 2021
Social Media Policy S-088-21 Page 1
Part 1 Purpose
1.1
The purpose of this policy is to provide guidance to elected officials regarding the
personal use of social media sites where they are clearly identified as being a councillor
of, or connected to the Municipality.
Part 2 Definitions
2.1
"Co-participants" means the owners of personal accounts and/or the originators of
social media content.
2.2
"FOIPOP" means the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.
2.3
"MODY" means the Municipality of the District of Yarmouth.
2.4
"Municipality" means the Municipality of the District of Yarmouth.
2.5
"Personal Account" means an account set up by an individual, in their name, which is
separate from a MODY account.
2.6
"Social Media" means the various online, accessible communication channels or
technologies that enable individuals to join and/or participate in online communities for
the purpose of publicly sharing information, ideas, messages, pictures, etc. These
channels can include Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, LinkedIn, as well as
blogs, mobile applications, websites, photo boards, discussion boards, or any other
online location where commentary is publicly shared.
Part 3 Procedures
3.1
Social Media sites are public, regardless of individual privacy settings. As such, any
postings (content, statements, pictures or comments, etc.) by an elected official has the
potential to negatively impact the Municipality, its reputation, workplace, other
councillors, employees, partners/vendors or its customers/clients.
3.2
Council will approach online communication by using sound judgment and common
sense, using the Code of Conduct for elected officials as a guide. As social media is a
far-reaching communication tool that comes with both risks and rewards, the personal
social media accounts of Warden and Councillors must be considerate of the following:
3.2.1 Conduct and represent themselves professionally;
MUNICIPALITY OF THE DISTRICT OF YARMOUTH
Social Media Policy
S-088-21
Effective Date:
September 23, 2021
Social Media Policy S-088-21 Page 2
3.2.2 Posts, pictures, comments or any content involving the following will not
be tolerated:
3.2.2.1 Proprietary and confidential municipal information, including
internal information and activities, confidential information of
municipal employees, businesses partners, customers or clients;
3.2.2.2 Inappropriate content, including harassing, bullying, intimidating
and discriminatory content or sexual innuendos regarding
employees, volunteers, Council members or other elected
officials, customers/ clients, corresponding organizations or
vendors;
3.2.2.3 Defamatory, derogatory or disparaging statements regarding the
Municipality, its employees, volunteers, Council members or other
elected officials, customers/clients, corresponding, organizations,
or vendors.
3.2.3 Posts on social media are subject to MODY's Violence in the Workplace
policy.
3.2.4 No Council member shall purport to speak or post on behalf of the
Municipality.
3.2.5 Posts by Councillors must be accurate and not misleading, and they must
not reveal confidential information.
3.2.6 Re-posting something written by someone else should be done with
caution, with the following procedures in mind:
3.2.6.1 no material that negatively reflects on the Municipality shall be
reposted;
3.2.6.2 nothing relating to an open procedural file shall be re-posted;
3.2.6.3 nothing that could open the Municipality to legal or civic action
shall be re-posted;
3.2.6.4 Councillors must ensure they have the proper permission from the
original author to repost;
MUNICIPALITY OF THE DISTRICT OF YARMOUTH
Social Media Policy
S-088-21
Effective Date:
September 23, 2021
Social Media Policy S-088-21 Page 3
3.2.6.5 if re-posting an item, Councillors shall clearly state the material,
letter, response, etc. has been authored by someone else.
3.2.7 The Councillor's biography within the social media account should clearly
state that the views expressed are those of the individual Councillor and
may not represent the views of the Council as a whole.
3.2.8 Do not use the Municipality's logo on a personal account or personal
website.
3.2.9 Do not post information discussed in closed session and do not post
anything that would not otherwise be presented in a public forum.
3.2.10 Do not discuss situations involving named, pictured or otherwise
identifiable individuals without their permission.
3.2.11 Do not use the copyrights, trademarks, publicity rights, or other rights of
others without the necessary permissions of the rights holder(s).
3.2.12 Anyone receiving threats, abuse or harassment through their use of social
media should report it to the Police.
3.2.13 Once an individual is no longer a Councillor, any social media accounts
identifying them as a Councillor of, or connected to, the Municipality shall
be disabled or amended.
Part 4 Recommended Practice
4.1
In the case of Facebook, in order to keep a Councillor's personal life and role as
a Councillor separate, Councillors should create an additional Facebook page
which members of the public can 'like' rather than using their personal profiles.
4.2
When asked a question about municipal operations (snow removal, etc.) Council
may not have the answer. Therefore rather than duplicating the service provided
by staff, elected officials should acknowledge the question and refer people to
the Municipality's official customer service channels on Facebook or by phone or
email.
4.3
Resist the urge to post everything. Emails from staff or citizens are written for a
specific audience for a specific purpose. Councillors could be doing their readers
MUNICIPALITY OF THE DISTRICT OF YARMOUTH
Social Media Policy
S-088-21
Effective Date:
September 23, 2021
Social Media Policy S-088-21 Page 4
a disservice by sharing information without context. Therefore cutting and pasting
emails is not permitted.
4.4
Social media participants expect timely responses to requests and expect co-
participants to monitor social media sites/pages frequently and regularly.
Monitoring and responding in a timely way is crucial for Councillors that
participate in social media.
4.5
Once information is published online, it becomes part of a permanent record.
Council should provide a link to an online space where their thought or message
can be expressed completely and accurately if it, along with its context, cannot fit
within a character-restricted space (such as Twitter).
4.6
Social media posts by Councillors are subject to the FOIPOP Act.
Part 5 Failure to Follow Policy
Council members who fail to follow this this policy may be subject to corrective action by
Council in accordance with Code of Conduct for elected officials.
Chief Administrative Officer's Annotation for Official Policy Book
Date of Notice to Council members of Intent to Consider (7 days
Min)
September 13, 2021
Date of Passage of current Policy
September 23, 2021
I certify that this Social Media Policy S-088-21 was adopted by Council as indicated
above.
__________________________________
September 29, 2021____
Chief Administrative Officer
Date
MUNICIPALITY OF THE DISTRICT OF YARMOUTH
Social Media Policy
S-088-21
Effective Date:
September 23, 2021
Social Media Policy S-088-21 Page 5
Date last reviewed by Council:
Date last amended:
Amendment Log
Date
Amendment Description