Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Communications Social Media Policy topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Commission asks manager to draft social media policy after attribution disputes
Summary
A commissioner raised concerns that city social‑media posts have been attributed inconsistently, favoring the mayor. The commission asked the city manager to draft a policy to clarify institutional voice, attribution rules, and procedures for ceremonial or politically sensitive posts.
The commission discussed developing a formal social‑media policy after commissioners said official city posts sometimes attribute messages inconsistently and may appear to speak for the entire commission.
Commissioner Stevenson introduced the item and urged a consistent approach. The draft recommendations called for an institutional voice for official city channels and a default attribution of messages “to the City of Sunny Isles Beach Commission” when posts purport to speak for the full governing body. Stevenson said individual commissioners requesting ceremonial or nonpolicy posts that use their name should submit proposed text to the city manager for review; if approved, posts would receive equal attribution.
Several commissioners supported limiting political or campaign‑tinged material on city accounts and reserving city channels for informational and officially approved commission statements. Vice Mayor and others suggested categorizing posts (informational, ceremonial, policy, campaign) and using clear labels so residents know whether a post represents the entire commission or an individual official. Commissioner Viscara said she had been surprised by posts purporting to be “on behalf of the commission” that did not reflect her views and asked to be informed in advance of such posts.
No formal policy was adopted. The commission asked the city manager to draft a social‑media policy that clarifies: the institutional voice of city accounts, attribution practices when posts are on behalf of the commission, the approval process for individual commissioner requests, and procedures to inform commissioners in advance of posted material that references them. The commission also requested that staff examine ethics and legal considerations related to campaign activity and attribution on city channels.
Next steps: the city manager will return with a draft policy for review and recommended procedures for staff and commissioners.
