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Resident says proposed social media change would remove Facebook comments; urges council to restore public input
Summary
At the May 15 Benbrook City Council meeting resident Terry Roach told the council a proposed change to the city's social media policy removes the public's ability to comment on Facebook and urged council members to restore that avenue of public input.
BENBROOK, Texas — During the public comment portion of the Benbrook City Council meeting on May 15, longtime resident Terry Roach said a recently proposed change to the city’s social media policy would eliminate citizens’ ability to post comments on the city’s Facebook page and urged the council to restore that avenue of public input.
Roach, who identified himself as a Benbrook resident since 1978, told the council the earlier social media policy “talked about values that we all share” and described communication and respect as core values. He said the change under consideration ‘‘eliminates any ability for the citizens to comment’’ on Facebook and that the change reduces opportunities for residents to communicate with elected officials.
Roach urged the council to put the issue to a vote so residents could weigh in and said he has repeatedly attempted to engage council members and staff about issues he raised. He also criticized council members and staff as being “closed to communicating” with some citizens; those statements were presented as Roach’s views during his public comment and were not acted on by the council at the meeting.
Council procedure and responses: Council staff, including City Secretary Beth Fisher, were at the dais to receive comments and subsequent agenda items proceeded without council debate on the social media policy at the May 15 meeting. Mr. Addison interjected at one point to correct a factual point about how long he has lived in the area; no council action on the social media policy was taken at the meeting.
What this means: Roach’s remarks were part of the public comment period; the transcript records his concerns and request that council formally address the social media change. The council did not place the social media policy on the meeting agenda for discussion at this session, and no policy decision or vote on social media was recorded on May 15.
Quotes: "The change eliminates any ability for the citizens to comment," Terry Roach said during his remarks.
