Social Media Policy

Salisbury, New Brunswick · adopted 2023-04-12

This is the exact embedded text of the captured official document. Snapshot 2f31c4d47c05 · verified 2026-06-07 · original document · archived snapshot · unofficial consolidation, the official version is held by the municipal clerk.

1. PURPOSE STATEMENT The Town strives to maintain a positive image in the community and has adopted this policy to ensure that employees are aware of their responsibility to maintain a positive image as a representative of the municipality and use social media responsibly and appropriately. The Town's employees who maintain personal social media pages (eg. Facebook, LinkedIn, blogs, Twitter, etc.) are expected to comply with the guidelines set out within this policy. 2. DEFINITIONS - "Chief Administrative Officer" means the head of the municipal administration. The individual - is the only employee who reports directly to Council. - "Council" means Mayor and Councillors of the Village of Salisbury. - "Employee" means any other person employed by the Village of Salisbury aside from the CAO, including full-time, part-time, contracted employees. - "Volunteer" means a Volunteer member of the Salisbury Fire Department. 3. APPLICATION Employees are reminded that they continue to act as representatives of the municipality outside of regular business hours, and should conduct themselves in a manner that is appropriate. This policy is not intended to interfere with the private lives of employees or impinge on their right(s) to freedom of speech. The Town's employees who maintain personal social media pages or accounts are required to comply with the following guidelines as they relate to their association with the Village. POLICY Department: Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) SOCIAL MEDIA POLICY Effective Date: April 12, 2023 Last Reviewed Date: March 30, 2023 1. Employees using social media are advised to maintain strict privacy settings on their personal accounts to ensure that any materials contained therein are not accessible to the public at large. This measure is recommended to avoid potential misconceptions regarding employee behavior, actions, comments, or posts that occur outside of their employment with the Municipality. 2. Use of social media during regular working hours shall not have a negative impact on user productivity or efficiency. Excessive use of social media for personal reasons is a misappropriation of the municipality's time and resources, and may be subject to disciplinary action. 3. Employees that use these sites are prohibited from disseminating any private Municipal information, or any negative comments regarding the Municipality. 4. Posts involving the following will not be tolerated and will subject the individual to discipline: - Proprietary and confidential company information; - Discriminatory statements or sexual innuendos regarding co-workers, management, customers; and - Defamatory statements regarding the Town, its employees, volunteers, and customers. 5. Employees are expected to conduct themselves professionally both on and off duty. Where an employee publicly associates himself with the Town, all materials associated with his page may reflect on the municipality. Please be advised that inappropriate comments, photographs, links, etc. should be avoided. 6. Municipal policies governing the use of corporate logos and other branding and identity apply to electronic communications, and only individuals officially designated may "speak" (whether orally or in writing) on the municipality's behalf. The municipality reserves the right to take disciplinary action against an employee if the employee's electronic communications violate municipal policy. 4. SALISBURY FIRE & RESCUE 1. Volunteer Members of the Salisbury Fire and Rescue Department are urged to take similar precautions as employees, where their association with the Town's Department could result in their view(s) or actions being reflected on the Municipality. 2. In any instance(s) related to the role as a representative of the Department, this Policy applies as if they were an employee. 3. All members must, in the course of their duties, respect patient confidentiality by refraining from sharing any confidential information or images to ensure that an unnamed person or patient is not identifiable from information posted online. 4. At no time may a Volunteer publicly post any information related to an emergency or emergency scene, before, during, or after the Department is dispatched, that releases information in which the general public is not privy to. 5. Any violations of the Social Media Policy for volunteer members of the Department will be forwarded to the Chief Administrative Officer and the Fire Chief for appropriate action, at the discretion of the Chief and the CAO.