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Council debates EDC Facebook page; asks staff to research policies and other towns' practices
Summary
The Glocester Economic Development Commission requested permission to run a Facebook page; the council expressed concerns about moderation, records retention, and staffing and asked the EDC and planner to research other towns and update the social‑media policy before returning with recommendations.
The Glocester Economic Development Commission on March 6 requested council approval to create and administer a Facebook page to promote local businesses and economic development. The EDC proposed a governance plan that would designate one primary administrator and two backups, require preapproval of content, monitor public interaction, and comply with the town’s social‑media policy and public‑records retention requirements.
Councilors expressed a range of concerns: who would staff and monitor the page, legal and records‑retention responsibilities, the potential need for more than one administrator, and risks from interactive content that could create censorship or moderation disputes. Several members said other towns operate pages through employees (for example, police and recreation accounts) and noted Glocester currently lacks a town manager to oversee such responsibilities. One councilor urged updating the town’s social‑media policy to reflect recent changes in records retention law before permitting additional pages.
Council direction: gather comparative practices from other Rhode Island towns (examples cited: Portsmouth, Coventry), update the town social‑media policy as needed, and return to the council with proposals and controls. Council members did not approve the EDC page request at the March 6 meeting; they asked the EDC and planner to collect more information and return with a revised plan.
Why it matters: Social media can expand civic outreach and promote local businesses, but interactive municipal accounts carry legal and staffing obligations (records retention, moderation, and potential public‑records requests). The council’s request for additional research reflects caution about operational and legal responsibilities.
Next steps: EDC and town planner to review other towns’ practices, update social‑media policy language where necessary, and present recommendations to council.
