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Trustees decline broad business promotion on village Facebook page, suggest business association approach
Summary
After a lengthy discussion, trustees agreed the village—s official social-media pages should primarily share government information; they suggested businesses use a business association for promotional activity and permitted limited exceptions for events on village property or special-permit situations.
Trustees discussed a proposal to share business or nonprofit promotional events via the village—s official Facebook account and voiced broad reluctance to use the municipal channel for general business promotion.
A trustee introducing the item said several local businesses and nonprofits have requested the village share or repost event notices. Multiple trustees argued the village page should remain focused on official government communications, while business promotion would be better handled by a business or downtown association. One trustee cited the City of Appleton as an example: the municipal page is reserved for government notices while a separate downtown association handles business and event promotion.
Trustees raised practical concerns: staff review time, the need to treat businesses equitably if the village shares promotional posts, and the workload of monitoring and approving posts. Trustees discussed a narrow exception for events taking place on village property (for example, events that require village permits or use village facilities), where the village might post notices about logistics (road closures, parking, access) or safety information but not act as a general promotional channel for every business special.
The board did not adopt a formal written policy at the meeting. The consensus among trustees was to avoid routine promotional sharing for businesses and to encourage the formation or use of a business or downtown association to coordinate shared promotion; the board asked staff to draft a policy or guidance reflecting those points for a future meeting. Trustees also said they would consider limited, clearly defined exceptions for permitted events on village property where notification or traffic/parking guidance by the village is appropriate.
