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POLICY
Intent
The Town of Shelburne strives to maintain a positive image in the community, and has adopted this
policy to ensure that our Council members, employees and volunteers are aware of their responsibility
to maintain a positive image as a representative of our Town. Town of Shelburne Councillor members,
employees and volunteers are expected to comply with the guidelines set out within this policy. Further,
Town Councillor members, employees and volunteers are expected to make clear, through statements
on any social media sites, operated independent of Town managed sites, that they are not
representative of, or in any way expressing the views of Council, employees or volunteers other than
themselves.
Councillor members, employees and volunteers continue to act as representatives of the Town of
Shelburne 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 our Council members, employees or
volunteers, or impinge their right to freedom of speech. This policy is designed to ensure that Town of
Shelburne's image and branding are maintained, and remain impugned.
Scope
The Media Policy applies to all Town of Shelburne Councillors, employees and volunteers at all times and
without exception.
Definitions
Media: refers to any newspaper outlets, news magazines, magazines, news stations, inquires
from reporters from any news media outlet, including, but not limited to blogs, on-line news
papers and radio.
Social Media: forms of electronic communication through which users create online communities to
share information, ideas, personal messages and other content (Merrian-Webster Dictionary). These
include but are not limited to: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Myspace.
General Guidelines
Town of Shelburne Councillor members, employees and volunteers that maintain personal social media
pages or accounts or speak to the media are required to comply with the following guidelines as they
relate to their association with Town of Shelburne. They will be held accountable for what they write or
TOWN OF SHELBURNE
Media Policy
POLICY
post on social media or internet pages and for comments made to the media. Inflammatory comments,
unprofessional or disparaging remarks, or disclosure of confidential information made by Council
members, employees or volunteers about customers, vendors or other Towns and Municipalities, or in
general, may result in disciplinary action, up to and including termination.
Council members, employees and volunteers should follow the guidelines below when making posts or
comments on any social media site whether it is public or private, or when commenting to the media for
any reason:
1. To conduct themselves professionally both during and outside of work hours; be advised that
inappropriate comments, photographs, links, etc. should be avoided.
2. Posts or comments involving the following will not be tolerated:
Proprietary and confidential Town information;
Discriminatory statements or sexual innuendos regarding co-workers, management, customers,
or vendors; and
Defamatory statements regarding the Town of Shelburne its employees, customers,
corresponding organizations, or vendors.
3. Where Council members, employees or volunteers mention the Town of Shelburne, they will be
required to include a disclaimer stating that any opinions expressed are their own and do not
represent the Town's positions, strategies, or opinions.
4. Use of social media may not conflict with any of Town of Shelburne's existing policies whatsoever.
5. The use of social media should not have a negative impact on employee productivity or efficiency.
6. Town policies governing the use of copyright materials, corporate logos and other forms of branding
and identity apply to electronic communications. Town of Shelburne protected materials (copyright
material, branding and/or logo(s)) may not be used without prior express written permission.
Any employee who fails to follow the guidelines set out in this policy may be subject to disciplinary
action up to and including termination of employment.
Official Representatives
1. Town of Shelburne Council members, employees or volunteers are prohibited from speaking on
behalf of the organization, releasing confidential information, releasing news, or communicating as
a representative of the organization without prior authorization to act as a designated Town of
Shelburne representative. The Mayor and Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) are hereby designated
Town of Shelburne representatives with the authority to delegate this role.
2. All questions, inquiries and comments received from media (news stations, newspaper publications,
etc.) are to be handled by the Mayor and/or Chief Administrative Officer (CAO). All such inquiries
are to be directed to the CAO for comment.
POLICY
Professional Public Conduct
Council members, employees and volunteers should also be aware that many persons present on Town
property use mobile phones and other devices to take photographs or recordings. Council members,
employees and volunteers should always represent the Town in a positive and professional manner so
negative images are not distributed through the media or social media.
Employees who are photographed or recorded acting inappropriately or unprofessionally may be
subject to disciplinary action, up to and including termination of employment.
Management of Town Media Channels
The Town of Shelburne is committed to making our social media channels a safe and welcoming
environment for everyone.
The comments, opinions and other materials posted on, or references, the Town of Shelburne's social
media channels are the sole responsibility of the individual submitting the postings. Staff who manage
Town Channels will remove comments that are offensive, rude in tone, or abusive as they are made
aware. Comments, discussion posts, wall posts, and any other user-posted content that is deemed
inappropriate will be removed by Staff using their discretion in accordance to the following criteria.
The Town of Shelburne reserves the right to monitor and remove, edit or refuse comments that meet
any of the following conditions:
Contrary to the principles of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
Racist, hateful, sexist, homophobic, slanderous, insulting, or life-threatening messages
Serious, unproven or inaccurate accusations against individuals or organizations
Aggressive, coarse, violent, obscene, or pornographic comments
Messages for advertising purposes
Unintelligible or irrelevant messages
Requests to share information via town media channels will be handled by staff. Requests to share
information must be relevant and local. The Town of Shelburne will share third party information from
another social media account if deemed in accordance with this policy but will not post it directly in
order to avoid confusion over ownership of the post. To request a sharing of a post via the Town's social
media channels contact the Town Office.
Approved By Council: December 6th, 2017
_____________________
Clerk