Social media is here to stay, but how the Town of Collingwood can use the tool while balancing the well-being of staff with freedom of expression for residents is still being navigated.
During Monday’s committee of the whole meeting, councillors discussed proposed changes to the town’s social media policy, which is in the process of being updated for the first time since it was put in place back in 2016.
“I’m happy to see this policy come forward. Social media is here to stay. So many people now only get their information from social media. We have to use this tool,” said Mayor Yvonne Hamlin during Monday’s meeting.
The policy includes updated commenting standards for the town’s social media channels including not allowing profane, obscene, racist, or otherwise discriminatory content; personal attacks, insults, or threatening language; plagiarized material; solicitation of commerce; violations of municipal bylaw, provincial or federal law, or encouragement of illegal activity; confidential information published without consent; promotion of political candidates or content considered inappropriate by the town.
Any commenters not complying with the town’s policy may be blocked or banned from commenting further on town social media pages.
Under the updated policy, staff managing the town’s social media are protected by the town’s health and safety policies, which include the town’s discrimination, violence and harassment policies, and the town’s social media spaces are considered an extension of the workplace.
As of now, the Town of Collingwood has a Facebook account (6,100 followers), Twitter (5,477 followers), Instagram (733 followers), YouTube (3,090 followers) and LinkedIn (2,067 followers). The town also oversees social media pages for the Collingwood Museum, Collingwood Public Library and the Simcoe Street Theatre.
“We’re not able to monitor our social media channels 24/7. There are only two of us who are able to do that,” said Christa Carter, manager of public relations and communications with the town during Monday’s meeting.
Coun. Christopher Baines expressed disbelief that only two staff manage all the town’s social media profiles.
“How do you not burn out in this job? I just don’t know how you could lead a productive life with sanity,” said Baines.
Carter said it can be “exhausting” reading repeated negative comments from users.
“I take it personally sometimes too, but I’m very passionate about it,” she said.
Under the updated policy, there are also rules for councillors, committee/board members and employees regarding their personal social media pages if they are sharing town content.
Members may not make disparaging remarks or express opinions which could be viewed as disparaging of the town, and if friends of town employees/councillors/members make disparaging remarks in their comment sections, they are encouraged to remove those comments.
“We are held to a higher standard than residents. We all play a role in ensuring the image of the municipality is upheld,” said Carter.
Coun. Kathy Jeffery said social-media monitoring gives her a lot of “angst.”
“We have information we need to disseminate to the public that they need. I don’t think it’s a good use of our staff’s time to be going through these posts to decide whether they’re worded properly or not,” she said. “We need to hear from people, but I’m not sure that it’s in that way, and I feel staff and council have a conflict to be participating in that conversation.”
“Our space to impact these decisions is here,” she said.
Jeffery noted that the town welcomes public feedback through multiple other avenues such as public deputations, surveys and email, that don’t require near-constant moderation.
“People are passionate, and they can’t resist the urge to come out and debate wherever that is. There are lots of other avenues to do that,” said Jeffery. “There are a lot of other priorities for our staff other than trying to monitor conversations.”
Carter clarified that there isn’t a simple switch on social media to turn off all commenting, and said that turning off comments altogether would require switching off comments for each individual post, which could be more time-consuming than the current system.
Coun. Brandon Houston said he had concerns regarding the personal social media accounts of committee members and how it may impact freedom of speech and rights to debate.
Amanda Pegg, executive director of corporate and community services said the town had received some feedback on the draft policy, which would be incorporated into an updated version that would be presented to council on May 15 before a final vote.
“We will have another look at the policy to look at how we can ensure... that we aren’t overstepping in terms of human rights,” said Pegg. “That’s certainly not our intention at all. Our intention is to create a respectful workplace for our staff.”
“I think it’s all about being a good human and a good member of this community. I say this to my sons all the time: If you’re going to put something out there that will exist forever, make sure it’s something you’d want associated with your name,” said Pegg. “Even if it’s deleted, it’s still there.”
Councillors voted unanimously in favour of recommending approval of the draft policy. Coun. Deb Doherty was absent.
The final policy will come before councillors for a vote at their May 15 regular council meeting.
