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Council staff presents draft social media policy; members request clarifications on events and livestreaming
Summary
Senior policy analyst Liz Theriault presented a draft Sandy City Council social media policy formalizing practices staff has used since 2020. Council members largely praised the framework, asked for explicit language about posting council members meeting attendance and recommended adding guidance for livestreaming options and technology.
Liz Theriault, senior policy and communications analyst, presented a draft Sandy City Council social media policy at the Feb. 25 meeting, asking the council for feedback before staff returns with a final draft.
"This policy really is not introducing anything new. It's what we have developed as a staff over the last couple of years," Theriault said, explaining the goal is to formalize current practice and coordinate with the city's new communications plan.
Council members supported the principle of keeping taxpayer-funded council pages distinct from campaign or personal political content. Council Member Ryan Meekum praised the policys stated neutrality: "If it's taxpayer funded, it shouldn't be at the behest of the campaign," he said. Several members asked staff to explicitly permit postings about council members other official duties, such as attendance at committee meetings and community events, and to clarify how committee and event posts will be handled. Theriault agreed to add explicit language covering committee attendance and other official duties.
Members also recommended adding guidance about livestreaming. Council Member Zach Robinson urged a provision that would anticipate different streaming technologies and formats as the councils equipment evolves. Theriault and staff acknowledged the councils earlier experiences with alternative meeting spaces and said they would draft livestream language and technical requirements for future consideration.
Why it matters: A written policy will give staff and council members a standard to follow for official council social accounts, limit campaign-related uses, and improve transparency about what content the council office will post.
Next steps: Theriault will incorporate the requested clarifications (explicit mention of committee and meeting attendance, and guidance language about livestreaming/technology) and return the policy to the council for formal adoption at a future meeting.
Provenance: The transcript contains Theriaults presentation and council comment and questions about item scope, examples of acceptable posts and livestreaming.
Ending: Council members voiced general support and asked staff to return with amended language; the item will return to the agenda for formal action.
