MONROE — The mayor and City Council members are now “strongly discouraged” from friending each other or liking the posts of fellow politicians on Facebook.
That’s part of a new social media policy for elected officials that was approved this week by the Monroe City Council.
The policy includes enforceable guidance for elected officials’ use of city social media sites and official accounts.
It also makes suggestions about behavior when using personal accounts. Because officials have a constitutional right to free speech, the city cannot actually enforce rules regarding personal accounts, City Administrator Gene Brazel said.
In part, the guidelines are about transparency.
The state Public Records Act requires government agencies across Washington to preserve records and make most of them available to people. Those records could include digital ones created through social media, such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, and the underlying data. But few public agencies have policies in place to retain such records.
The state in 2010 issued suggested guidelines to help public agencies with social media issues. Monroe joins a handful of cities that have implemented policies to help ensure compliance with laws aimed at government transparency.
“We’re trying to keep up with technology,” Mayor Geoffrey Thomas said.
Monroe’s policy establishes a way for elected officials to use social media to communicate with constituents using official accounts and to ensure the information is saved in compliance with state public records laws.
The policy also aims to keep elected officials from violating rules about open public meetings and those related to using a public office to aid in a political campaign.
Monroe’s policy bans posts, comments and links to content that supports or opposes political candidates, ballot propositions and campaign sites of elected officials.
It also discourages elected officials from using private social media tools to communicate about city business.
Certain electronic communications, including emails, texts and social media messages, must be retained to comply with the Public Records Act.
Another state law prohibits a majority of members of a governing body from discussing business outside of a public meeting. As with telephone and email conversations, communication on social media could be considered a meeting under the Open Public Meetings Act.
Mayor Thomas said the city was concerned that if council members were discussing issues on social media — particularly as part of a long comment thread — they could easily run into violations of the law without realizing it.
The policy now prohibits elected officials from using social media to conduct business other than to “informally communicate” with people.
Content from city social media accounts now will be archived. People using the sites are to be warned that information they post there might be subject to disclosure.
Under the new policy, the mayor and council members must turn over to the city any content from their private accounts that could be considered a public record.
If elected officials fail to comply, the human resources director is to shut down communication through official social media accounts, either temporarily or permanently. That can be appealed to a hearing examiner.
The Municipal Research &Services Center, a nonprofit group that supports local governments in Washington, says that state courts haven’t sorted out how the Public Records Act relates to social media. But it recommends that all public officials assume that social media posts can be subject to public disclosure.
The organization has compiled information to help public agencies draft social media policies and retain such records.
Several cities, such as Bothell, Shoreline and Seattle, have implemented social media policies. Others, including Mill Creek, are considering guidelines.
A number of Washington counties, including King and Kittitas, have also put policies for social media in place.
Snohomish County doesn’t have one but is looking into the issue, a spokeswoman said.
Amy Nile: 425-339-3192; anile@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @AmyNileReports.
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