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Resident urges Mantua to restore public comments on township social media pages; mayor cites legal advice
Summary
A Mantua resident asked the Township Committee to reinstate public commenting on official social media posts; Mayor Zimmerman said comments were disabled about two years ago on legal advice and no policy change was recorded.
During the Sept. 9 meeting of the Mantua Township Committee, resident Courtney Bracken of 161 Sussex Ave asked the committee to restore the ability for residents to post comments on the township’s Facebook and Instagram pages, saying the change would increase transparency and engagement.
Mayor Zimmerman responded that comments were disabled about two years ago based on legal advice and that the township’s social media pages are intended for informational postings — for example the Mayor’s message and event notices — rather than a forum for ‘‘cantankerous commenting.’’ The committee did not take action to change the social media comment policy at the meeting.
The mayor reiterated the committee’s public-comment rules for the meeting format: agenda items are heard first, speakers are limited to five minutes (pursuant to Resolution R-32-2023), and the overall public portion may be limited to 30 minutes if needed. No committee motion or vote was recorded to reopen comments on posts.
What happens next: The social media policy remains unchanged in the meeting record; there was no motion to reinstate commenting during the Sept. 9 session.
