Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Board Rules Social Media topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Clatsop County staff proposes social media guidelines for commissioners; board asks to bring policy back for adoption
Summary
County staff presented a draft amendment to board rules clarifying three types of social-media communications (personal, campaign, official). Commissioners asked legal and technical questions, received assurances about individual liability, and directed staff to return the policy for formal consideration at a future meeting.
County staff presented a draft amendment to the Board Rules that would establish guidance for commissioners' social-media use and clarify distinctions among personal, campaign and official county accounts.
The County Manager said the guidelines aim to reduce legal and records-retention risk by defining when a commissioner’s social-media presence constitutes an official county site and by establishing basic content and moderation expectations. "The third one, though, is the official one, and that is the official platform for sharing information and communicating as an independently elected commissioner," the manager said, noting that county-branded sites would be subject to public-records, copyright, retention and fair-use rules.
Commissioner Thompson asked whether liability for a social-media violation would attach to an individual commissioner or to the whole board. Anthony (county counsel) responded that liability would be at the individual level: "It would be at the individual level. It would be the commissioner who was...liable for anything that the individual commissioner was doing, that was improper or illegal."
The draft also differentiates personal sites (which may become official if used for county business) and campaign sites (generally outside the policy because they are not official county sites). The manager said staff would return the draft to the board for formal consideration. "If your board is interested, we would bring it to a future board meeting for your consideration," the manager said.
Why it matters: Social-media use by elected officials has evolving legal precedents. The draft is intended to provide consistent, low-risk practices for commissioners who communicate about county business and to clarify records-retention responsibilities for county staff.
Next steps: Staff will bring the draft social-media amendment back to a future board meeting for consideration and potential adoption, and the county attorney will be available to answer legal questions during that session.
