You might find it easier to click on the link below, which should open the document at its source so you can move it around and read it.
Among the highlights:
And that brings up a personal note. Ramsey developed his interests as a private attorney and has recently become assistant city attorney in Everett. That's great for him and Everett, but it means he will have a lot more on his plate than social media. We can only hope the officials there can give him some time to take advantage of his knowledge of social media. Government attorneys need to provide more of this sort of advice, and Everett is to be commended for the time they've already given Ramerman.
Among the highlights:
- Don't post anything you don't expect to see in the local paper or blogs. This stuff we Tweet, post or 'Facebook' is public regardless of who you think might see it.
- If your site allows comments, don't moderate them. You could violate the First Amendment.
- Be extremely careful so council members don't start deliberating via social media. That breaks the law.
- There are court cases going on now concerning what material you have to archive from all this social media to comply with public records rules. Be aware of the latest rules and guidelines, and act smart so you don't get fined for failing to produce something (and there's a link from his article to the blog of Ramsey's former law firm to get the latest news)
And that brings up a personal note. Ramsey developed his interests as a private attorney and has recently become assistant city attorney in Everett. That's great for him and Everett, but it means he will have a lot more on his plate than social media. We can only hope the officials there can give him some time to take advantage of his knowledge of social media. Government attorneys need to provide more of this sort of advice, and Everett is to be commended for the time they've already given Ramerman.
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2 comments:
Thank you for posting this. I'm actually just finishing up the CSS on my blog and hadn't considered the 1st Amendment implications. I wonder if there is a difference between a blog owned by a government, and an elected official.
Also, I think the absolute minimum that must be considered is the Open Public Meetings implications. Granted, some Council's aren't exactly friends, but many of us are and an innocent group of comments could quickly head south. The best advice seems to be to self-police the way we do with other social gatherings to avoid any appearance of a problem.
I wonder if there is a difference between a blog owned by a government, and an elected official.
I'm no attorney, but a conservative interpretation is that if you as a government official create a document, it's a government document. So all the rules apply.
Agree on your public meeting comments. If I saw even one other council member discussing something on my Facebook page, for example, I'd shout out a warning.
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