Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Government Operations topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
City attorney outlines why council cannot broadcast meetings on social platforms; officials echo caution to the public
Summary
City attorney Janine explained at the Jan. 22 meeting that cities must manage public-records obligations and forum rules, making social platforms problematic for live municipal meetings; council members said they will direct residents to the official broadcast and city-run CivicWeb link.
City Attorney Janine explained to the La Center City Council on Jan. 22 why the city does not broadcast council meetings live on social-media platforms such as Facebook and why council members should be cautious about using those platforms for meeting broadcasts or official communications.
Janine said two primary concerns drive the policy: public-records obligations and forum management. "When you're using social media ... it's hard to catch all of that and secure all of that in a manner that is compliant with the law," she said, noting that a municipality must preserve created records and handle different kinds of comment forums consistently. She also said statutory open-meeting requirements make regular social platforms an inappropriate venue for conducting or broadcasting public meetings.
Council members and staff said they will point residents to the city’s official broadcast platform (CivicWeb) and noted that council meeting videos are available on YouTube the day after meetings. One council member said the attorney's explanation would help staff respond to questions from residents asking for Facebook live streams.
No policy change was proposed at the meeting; the discussion served as guidance for council members on permissible public communication channels and how the city handles records for council business.
