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Council makes Bristol Facebook page information‑only after staff report on abusive comments
Summary
After staff described personal attacks in Facebook comments and the town's archiving practice, the council voted unanimously to make the town Facebook page an information‑only government page and asked legal counsel to prepare a comments policy if comments are to remain enabled in the future.
Town staff told the council that recent Facebook comments had targeted town employees and that the town archives posts and comments in case of public records requests or litigation. Council members debated keeping comments enabled (with a policy) versus disabling them and relying on other communication channels.
Clerk/ council member Kathy moved to designate the Facebook page as a "government information" page with comments turned off; Greg seconded and the motion passed unanimously. Legal counsel Alex Bowman was asked to draft a comments policy for the council to consider if the page later allows comments under defined rules.
The decision is intended to protect employees from harassment while preserving the town's ability to post event notices and official information. Staff will implement the change and bring any draft policy language to the council if comments are ever reintroduced.
