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Select board to hold working session after mixed response to social-media policy
Summary
Mount Vernon select board agreed to schedule a working session in early December to draft a social-media policy and resolve whether a single town account or department-level pages should be permitted; members cited First Amendment and archival concerns.
Mount Vernon — The select board returned to a contested social-media policy and voted to reconsider the matter so members could reopen discussion. Tyler told the board he had met with department heads who “universally encouraged the town to adopt one” and said most department leaders supported an official page.
Board members debated whether the policy should authorize a single town-run account or allow separate pages for the library, fire department and community center. Concerns raised included legal and records-retention obligations, First Amendment implications, liability and who would maintain or respond to public comments. One member suggested those departments draft their own pages consistent with minimum guidelines the board would adopt.
Members also discussed alternatives to social media, including a redesigned town website, an email newsletter, and community forums such as Front Porch Forum. The board agreed a working session would be a better venue to resolve logistics (maintenance, staffing, archiving) before returning a formal policy to the regular meeting. The working session was tentatively scheduled for the first Monday in December at 6 p.m. at the community center; minutes will be taken because it will count as an official select-board meeting.
What’s next: The working session will lay out minimum guidelines, staffing plans, and whether department pages will be permitted; the select board will consider any policy adoption after that session.
