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1. Policy Statement
1.1 The Municipality of the County of Colchester ("Municipality") is committed to consistent,
clear, effective, timely, and transparent communications. Effective communications are
critical to the Municipality's work and contribute directly to citizens' trust in their local
government. This Policy is intended to guide open, honest, and effective
communication with the Municipality's residents, stakeholders, Council, and
employees.
2. Purpose
2.1 The purpose of this Policy is to ensure that communications with residents, stakeholders,
Council, and employees reflect the values of the Municipality, and is efficient, responsive,
and human-focused.
This Policy establishes the principles that will direct all communications and provides
specific direction and standards for a variety of communications related activities. This
Policy provides direction to Council and employees to ensure, at all times, the
Municipality:
- Provides clear, accurate and timely information about its policies, programs,
services, and initiatives to the community.
- Uses a variety of communication methods to engage and provide access to local
government information in formats that respond to and accommodate the
community's diverse needs.
- Is visible, accessible, transparent, and accountable to citizens.
- Provides clear and timely messaging to communities in response to
emergencies or crises.
- Engages the public when establishing priorities, developing policies, and
planning programs and services.
- Provides timely, accurate and relevant information to staff and Council on key
issues prior to release to the public.
- Provides a brand that is clear, cohesive and concise, and ensures
communications regarding the official position of the Municipality on all issues
reflect the majority vote of Council or existing policy framework adopted by
Council.
Municipality of the County of Colchester
Communications Policy
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3. Application
3.1 This Policy applies to all internal and external communications of the Municipality and
applies to all Members of Council and employees.
4. Definitions
4.1 Authorized Person: an employee appointed by the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) to
interact with media or represent the Municipality.
4.2 Corporate Communication(s): the variety of ways the Municipality, as a government
body, communicates with external and internal audiences.
4.3 Emergency: A situation that requires prompt action to limit damage to persons,
property, or the environment.
4.4 Inappropriate Communication means in-person, electronic, telephonic, written, or other
forms of communication that:
- a person knew or reasonably ought to have known would cause the subject of the
communication, the person receiving the communication, or both to feel humiliated
or intimidated;
- is discriminatory, threatening, violent, or defamatory; or
- is part of a pattern of communications that are frivolous, vexatious, or made with
malicious intent
4.5 Social Media: websites and digital applications that enable users to create, share, and
interact with content online, or to participate in social networking.
4.6 Stakeholder: a resident, business, municipal neighbour, elected official, staff, upper tier
level of government, board, committee, authority, agency, association, and anyone with
an interest in municipal affairs.
5. Values and Guiding Principles
5.1 In all communications, the values of the Municipality shall be embodied and reflected:
- Accessibility: Communications shall use plain language and a variety of methods as
a means to be inclusive and responsive to the needs of target audiences.
- Diversity: Communications shall be correct, concise, accessible, gender neutral, and
non-discriminatory. Communications shall exclude words and images that connote
stereotypes, exclude any negative or passive language relating to physical
appearances, and exclude clichés, slang, and jargon. All communications shall
reflect and promote inclusion, diversity, equity, and accessibility.
- Accountability: Communications and engagement must always reflect that the
Municipality takes responsibility for its actions, words, goals, and objectives. When
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an error is made, it must be corrected, with notice and taking responsibility for it.
- Listening: As an organization, including Council and staff, the Municipality will strive
to listen to the input from citizens to gain new information, view an issue from a
unique perspective, reduce conflict and build confidence and trust.
- Cordiality: As individuals, and as an organization, the Municipality's communications,
systems, and the execution of our work must be delivered with friendliness,
kindness and compassion.
- Timeliness: In all matters, clarity and timeliness of communications shall be
observed. The Municipality must communicate with citizens as quickly as possible
without compromising key values. If an interaction requires seeking additional or
detailed information and input, the request should be acknowledged, and the
expectations defined around the communications.
- Transparency: The Municipality must communicate honestly and openly with
stakeholders whenever possible. This includes providing proactive disclosure of
information when appropriate.
6. Brand Usage
6.1 Corporate communications shall make use of the Municipality's brand and brand
standards as appropriate and in accordance with the brand adopted by Council. Usage
of the Municipality's brand outside of corporate communications shall be at the
discretion of the CAO.
7. Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy
7.1 In all communications, the Municipality, Members of Council, and employees are
subject to the Municipal Government Act, SNS 1998, c 18, Part XX.
8. Respectful Communications Policy
8.1 1. Responding to Inappropriate Communication to employees:
- If employees believe they have received inappropriate communication, they will
prepare an Incident Report detailing the incident. Employees will submit the incident
Report to their Manager or Director. Where the Incident is limited to written or
electronic communication, a copy of that written or electronic communication
should be included with the Incident Report.
- If, upon receipt and review of an Incident Report, the Manager or Director believes
the incident may have violated this Policy, they will notify the CAO and provide the
CAO with the Incident Report.
- When the CAO receives an Incident Report, they will take such action as they consider
appropriate in the circumstances, considering the following guidelines:
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- whether the Inappropriate Communication concerned a matter for which the
author of the communication had a statutory right to be heard;
- the role of the individual to whom the Inappropriate Communication was
directed;
- whether the inappropriate communication relates to comments and feedback
regarding a program, service, or initiative of the Municipality;
- whether the inappropriate communication is violent, threatening, defamatory of
an individual, or discriminatory;
- whether the inappropriate communication was a single or repeated act;
- whether the person has acknowledged wrongdoing or apologized for the
inappropriate communication;
- whether the person had received previous warnings or actions from the
Municipality regarding inappropriate communication; and
- any other relevant consideration.
8.2 The CAO may determine that the incident did not constitute a violation of this Policy and
take no further action.
8.3 The CAO may determine that the incident constituted a violation of this Policy but
decide that no further action is required in the circumstances.
8.4 The CAO may determine that the incident constituted a violation of this Policy and take
one or more of the following steps:
- issue a written warning letter to the person who engaged in inappropriate
communication;
- request that the person who engaged in inappropriate communication meet with an
employee;
- impose limits on the way a person may communicate with employees, including:
limiting the person to communicating
8.4.1 in a particular manner (e.g., email only);
8.4.2 at a particular time (e.g., telephone calls only one day per week, emails only
reviewed once per week);
8.4.3 for a particular duration of time (e.g., a maximum time for telephone calls);
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8.4.4 with a particular person (e.g., requiring that all communications from the
person be directed to the Manager and advising other employees not to
respond; and,
8.4.5 any other action the CAO considers appropriate in the circumstances.
- instruct employees not to acknowledge, respond to, and/or publish future
communications from the person engaging in inappropriate communication;
- any other action the CAO considers appropriate in the circumstances.
8.5 Nothing in this Policy is intended to limit a Council Member's ability to respond to
communication received from the public.
9. Communications Support Provided to the Mayor
9.1 In their capacity as the spokesperson for Council, the Municipality may provide
communications support to the Mayor, if required. Such assistance may include but is
not limited to speaking notes for public appearances or events, scripts or research
notes for media interviews, and key messages for media requests or emergency
situations.
10. Communications from Members of Council
10.1 In all communications from Members of Council, including the use of social media, the
following shall be considered:
- Obligations under Council's Code of Conduct;
- Obligations under Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy legislation;
- The accuracy of information provided;
- If the communication could bring about disrepute to or expose the Municipality
to legal action;
- Whether the subject or position on a matter is enabled or prohibited by a law, or
By-law or Policy of the Municipality;
- Whether the communication reflects the values of the Municipality; and,
- Whether Council has taken a particular position, by way of a motion, on the topic.
10.2 Individual members of Council are encouraged to reflect the position of Council in
their communications, or state they are providing a personal opinion. Where an
individual Member of Council expresses a personal opinion, whether written or
verbal, it must be explicitly clear to the audience that the Member is not speaking on
behalf of the Municipality or Council.
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Accordingly, when a Member of Council is communicating as an individual, they may
include the following statement in written correspondence:
"The information contained in this correspondence reflects the
views of an individual Member of Council, and not those of
Council as a whole or the Municipality of the County of
Colchester."
10.3 With respect to communicating the business of Committees of Council, the Members
of Council serving as Chair shall refer to and be bound by the policies of their
respective Committee.
10.4 It shall be the responsibility of the Chair of a Committee to verify, if required, the
accuracy of information being communicated to Council with the CAO.
10.5 Following circulation of formal written correspondence, Members of Council shall
provide a copy of the correspondence to the CAO. This shall include copies of letters
of support or commendation, or responses to community issues, but exclude emails,
social media posts, or routine correspondence with constituents.
11. Media Inquiries Received by Members of Council
11.1 Councillors shall refer all media inquiries to the Mayor and CAO for direction and
assistance.
11.2 The Mayor shall be the default spokesperson for all media inquiries regarding Council
matters, unless another Member of Council is designated to respond to a particular
matter.
11.3 The Municipality will endeavour at every possible chance to have Members of Council
to respond to and engage with media inquiries on District- specific matters.
12. Corporate Communications
12.1 The Municipality shall maintain a website to provide the public with information
regarding municipal services, Council decisions, Council and Committee meeting
schedules, minutes and agendas, By-laws, Policies, activities, events, and ongoing
government business.
12.2 The CAO shall be the official spokesperson for matters related to the administration
of the Municipality. All media inquiries shall be referred to them for direction.
12.3 If authorized by the CAO, an employee may serve as the designated spokesperson for
matters relating to their position, skills, and expertise.
13. Social Media Use by the Municipality and Employees
13.1 The Municipality shall not provide administrative support to the individual social
media accounts of Members of Council.
13.2 Only authorized persons may write in the voice of the Municipality on social media.
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13.3 All social media platforms and activities must be reflective of the Municipality's
values and will continually strive to protect the organization's credibility and meet the
information needs of citizens.
13.4 The CAO, or their designate, shall be responsible for managing the primary social
media channels representing the Municipality as a corporation.
13.5 All social media content shall require approval by the CAO, or their designate, prior to
publication.
13.6 The Municipality may establish standards and guidelines for commenting and
engagement with its social media content that include, but are not limited to:
- Responding to posts or comments;
- Moderating discussions;
- When posts or comments may be removed, such as instances of:
o Racist, hateful, sexist, homophobic, slanderous, insulting, or threatening
language.
o Aggressive, coarse, violent, obscene, or pornographic content.
o Offensive or threatening comments directed at an individual or an
organization.
o Content posted for the sake of advertising or self-promotion.
o Unintelligible, repetitive, or spam content.
o Post any comments in any way contrary to law.
13.7 Council members shall remain mindful of their obligations under the Code of Conduct
for Members of Council when sharing content on social media.
14. Emergency Communications
14.1 In times of emergency or crisis, the Municipality shall communicate any and all
information that will protect the health, safety, security, of residents and their
property.
14.2 Communications decisions shall be made by the Colchester Regional Emergency
Management Organization.
14.3 Communications will take any form necessary to ensure residents receive accurate,
timely, and relevant information to prevent, mitigate, respond to, or recover from an
emergency
15. Copyright
15.1 The use of images in print and digital communications products, and their distribution
to targeted audiences, will comply with the Copyright Act. The Municipality will ensure
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that the ownership rights associated with works subject to copyright are fully
respected in the Municipality's communications channels and products.
16. Reporting Violations
16.1 Members of Council and employees shall immediately report known or suspected
violations of this Policy to the CAO. All good faith allegations of violations of this policy
will be confidentially investigated.
17. Policy Review
17.1 This policy will be reviewed every five years from the date of approval by Council.
Council will be provided with recommended updates, as required, based on changes in
the corporate reporting structure, changes in best practices or technological changes
that need to be addressed in the Policy framework.
18. Roles and Responsibilities
The communications function is a shared role that requires the cooperation of many
internal stakeholders whose communications-related responsibilities are as follows:
18.1
Council will:
18.1.1 ensure the Municipality has a current and comprehensive Policy for
communications; and
18.1.2 review and amend this Policy as required.
18.2 The Chief Administrative Officer:
18.2.1 will implement this Policy and oversee effective communications of municipal
policy and initiatives;
18.2.2 will identify and propose revisions to this Policy; and
18.2.3 may delegate their authority.
originally approved January 25, 2024
Clerk's Annotation For Official Policy Book
Date of Notice to Council Members of Intent to Consider (7 days minimum): December 11, 2023
Date of Passage of Current Policy:
January 25, 2024
I certify that this Policy was adopted by Council as indicated above.
Dan Troke
January 30, 2024
Municipal Clerk
Dated