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Owasso council discusses development of citywide social media policy
Summary
Councilors discussed creating a citywide social media policy; City Manager said he is drafting a policy with communications staff, City Attorney cautioned about First Amendment and employee guidance issues, and staff said the internal policy would not require council approval.
At the Aug. 12, 2025 joint meeting, Councilor Cody Walter opened a discussion about creating a single citywide social media policy to clarify how the city communicates with residents and how staff and the public should engage on official channels.
Councilor Cody Walter said the goal is clarity about the purpose of city social media and consistent rules across departments so the public understands how the city will engage online. He said he had reviewed other municipal policies for models and highlighted Tulsa's approach as an example of concise, department-level guidance.
City Manager (unnamed in the transcript) said the city does not currently have a single, formal social media policy but that he is responsible for drafting one with the communications specialist and department directors. The City Manager said the draft will include checks and balances in the posting process and will be shared with department directors; he also said staff has intensified work on the document in recent weeks.
Mr. Barty, the City Attorney, cautioned that aspects of social media policy can raise First Amendment issues and that providing prescriptive rules for public employees'personal social media use can be legally complicated. He said action on policy and internal administration is typically split: the council sets policy while the City Manager handles internal administration.
Participants discussed other policy elements, including aligning posts with the city's branding and training needs for staff who post, whether employee handbook language should address social media, and how to balance open engagement with limits on content moderation. The City Manager said the policy would be an internal administrative policy and would not need to come before the council for approval, though staff would share the document with council members.
No formal vote or ordinance was taken; councilors and staff framed the item as discussion and direction for staff work on a draft policy.
