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Hope Mills adopts social-media guidelines for elected and appointed officials
Summary
After legal clarification and commissioner questions about personal versus official accounts, the board adopted a social-media policy recommending best practices for elected officials while recognizing First Amendment limits and contextual distinctions for sharing town announcements.
The Hope Mills Board of Commissioners voted Feb. 3 to adopt a social-media policy for elected and appointed officials intended to set best practices for how officials post on personal and official accounts.
The town attorney advised that context matters: simply sharing an existing town announcement or event on a personal page is generally different from using an account as an official forum. "If you want to be on the extreme safe side, then the best practice would be to avoid discussing town business," the attorney said, but added that sharing routine announcements is likely permissible and that whether a post becomes a public record depends on how the account is used.
Commissioners discussed the policy’s language that asks officials to 'consider the potential impact of liking, sharing or commenting' on posts involving the town, employees or contractors. Several commissioners sought clarity about whether sharing parks-and-rec event notices or town announcements on personal pages would violate the policy; the attorney and staff said the provision was intended as a self-check rather than a ban on sharing pre-existing town information.
After the discussion, the board moved, seconded and approved the policy. Several commissioners said they would be mindful of the distinction between personal views and official statements and that staff would prepare implementation guidance for sharing and recordkeeping.
Why it matters: The policy aims to reduce legal risk (public-record and viewpoint-discrimination issues) while offering guidance for officials who also maintain personal social-media profiles.
What’s next: Staff will issue clearer guidance and a FAQ for commissioners about when a post is likely to be treated as official and how to manage comments on official pages.
