Borough council proposes tighter rules for council meetings and social media approvals

The borough council reviewed proposed edits to its council rules and a change to the communications policy at its Sept. 2 meeting that would require any new official social-media platform to be vetted by the borough manager and approved by the full council.

Mr. Lawrence, speaking during the operations and policy report, said agenda-setting meetings should serve two functions: inform council about items coming forward and present concise motions and rationale for items that will go to the business meeting. He also called attention to a minor change on pages six and seven of the council rules he plans to present for approval at the business meeting.

On communications, Lawrence told members the major change under consideration is a requirement that newly adopted social-media platforms be approved after manager review rather than being added ad hoc. He described the approach as a "belt and suspenders" measure intended to limit mistakes and ensure platforms are formally vetted by staff and council.

Council members said the policy change addresses an active third-party Facebook page that appears to present borough information under names such as "Forest Hills home" or "Forest Hills community homepage." Members said staff will take a "delicate" approach toward asking the page administrators to change the name so it does not imply it is an official borough page.

The council did not adopt the rule changes at the Sept. 2 meeting; Mr. Lawrence said he will bring the edits and the communications-policy revision to the next business meeting for formal consideration.

The council agreed to give staff time to circulate the proposed rule language and the communications policy to members before the business meeting so members may submit comments.