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Hutto EDC approves LinkedIn account; attorney warns board members about social-media quorum risks
Summary
The Hutto EDC approved creating an official LinkedIn account to promote the corporation; staff said Jennifer Derok would be an admin. The board's legal counsel cautioned that multiple board members commenting on the same post could create a quorum and potentially violate the open-meetings rules.
Staff asked the board to authorize a LinkedIn account for the Hutto Economic Development Corporation to share success stories, economic updates and community spotlights. The board approved the proposal after discussion of content strategy and administration.
"Staff feels like this is good alignment for intended EDC audiences to communicate the vision and progress that this corporation is making," the executive director said. The director added that the planned admin would be Jennifer Derok, the marketing specialist, and that city communications staff would also have admin access. Several board members asked whether their personal LinkedIn posts or comments would create legal exposure if multiple board members engaged on the same post.
The board's legal counsel warned that public comments or apparent coordination by three or more board members could be treated as deliberation outside of a public meeting and might violate open-meetings rules. "If you do something that shows an affirmative or a negative belief as to some action that's going to be taken, then you've communicated a message," the counsel said, explaining how a chain of social-media interactions can be construed as board communication. The motion to create and manage the LinkedIn account passed 6-0.
