Live Oak council considers centralizing city social media under city clerk

The City of Live Oak council on June 10 discussed a proposal to centralize the city’s social media accounts under the city clerk’s office to ensure consistent messaging and an auditable posting process.

A councilmember said the city’s website and social channels currently show information coming from different departments and occasionally from elected officials, making it difficult to know which posts are official. The councilmember proposed that "all of our social media be housed under the city clerk's office." City Clerk Joanne said she already maintains the city website and offered to manage associated social accounts to ensure information is posted consistently: "I'm already have, you know, that and I can just do the social media at the same time to pump out the same information."

City Attorney cautioned that elected officials posting directly to public channels may raise legal or procedural questions and advised that it is generally better for staff to handle official accounts: "I'd have to look into that. It would probably make sure we better for staff to handle." Council discussion concluded with staff direction to examine the city’s internal process for coordinating website and social media posts so all departments route official content through a central account or system.

Why it matters: council members said consistent, centrally managed social media would reduce confusion, ensure accuracy and provide a single source for official city information. The council did not adopt a formal policy or ordinance at the meeting; instead, staff were asked to review options and return with recommendations.