The exceptional quality of life, first-rate school district and abundant recreational amenities are among the many reasons our residents call the city home. SOCIAL MEDIA POLICY
RESOLUTION NO. 2022-21
RESOLUTION APPROVING SOCIAL MEDIA POLICY
WHEREAS, the City of Fonda has information that needs to be communicated to residents; and
WHEREAS, residents use a variety of communication formats; and
WHEREAS, the City of Fonda wishes to establish a policy to guide staff and residents while using the City’s communication processes. WHEREAS, staff is recommending adoption of the following social media policy:
Social Media Policy
Purpose
This policy sets forth guidelines for the establishment and use by the City of Fonda of social media sites as a means of conveying City of Fonda information to the public. The intended purpose behind the use of City of Fonda social media sites is the disseminate information from the City, about the City, to the public in a civil and unbiased manner. The City of Fonda has an overriding interest and expectation in deciding what is “spoken” on behalf of the City on City social media sites. For the purposes of this policy, social media means any facility for online publication and commentary, including without limitations, city’s website, blogs, wikis, content hosting sites such as Flickr and YouTube, and social networking sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. This policy is in addition to and complements any existing or future City of Fonda policies regarding the use of technology, computers, smart phones, e-mail and the internet. The establishment and use by any City Department of City social media sites are subject to approval by the City Council or Mayor or City Clerk or his/her designees. All City of Fonda social media sites shall be administered by the Department Supervisor or his/her designees.
2. City social media sites shall make clear that they are maintained by the City of Fonda. The City logo or branding shall be used on all social media accounts to confirm authenticity of the site. City social media accounts will only join a group or become a fan of a page if it is related to official City business, services, and events.
3. Wherever possible, City social media sites should link back to the official City of Fonda website for forms, documents, online services and other information necessary to conduct business with the City of Fonda.
4. The Department Supervisor or his/her designees will monitor content on City social media sites to ensure adherence to both the social media policy and the interest and goals of the City of Fonda.
5. Users of all City social media shall adhere to applicable federal, state and local laws, regulations and policies.
6. The City reserves the right to restrict or remove any content that is deemed in violation of the City of Fonda social media policy or any applicable law. Any content removed based on these guidelines must be retained by the Department Supervisor or his/her designees for a reasonable period of time, including the time, date and identity of the poster, when available.
7. The City of Fonda’s website at http://www.fondaiowa.com will remain the city’s primary and predominate Internet presence.
8. Freedom of Information Act and e-discovery laws and policies apply to social media content and therefor content must be able to be managed, stored and retrieved to comply with these laws.
9. City of Fonda social media sites are subject to State of Iowa Public records laws. Any content maintained in a social media format that is related to City business, including a list of subscribers and posted communication, is a public record. The Department maintaining the site is responsible for responding completely and accurately to any public records request for public records on social media. Content related to City business shall be maintained in an accessible format pursuant to City policy and practice so that it can be produced in response to a request. Whenever possible, such sites shall clearly indicate that any articles and any other content posted or submitted for posting are subject to public disclosure.
10. Employees representing the City of Fonda via social media accounts must conduct themselves at all times as a representative of the City of Fonda. Employees that fail to conduct themselves in an appropriate manner shall be subject to the Disciplinary Action Procedures outlined in the Personnel Policy Manual. A comment posted by a member of the public on any City of Fonda social media site is the opinion of the commentator or poster only, and publication of a comment does not imply endorsement of, or agreement by, the City of Fonda, nor do such comments necessarily reflect the opinions or policies of the City of Fonda.
2. Comments containing any of the following inappropriate forms of content shall not be permitted on City of Fonda social media sites and are subject to removal and/or restriction by the Department Supervisor or his/her designees. Comments not related to the original topic;
b. Content that promotes, fosters or perpetuates discrimination on the basis of race, creed, color, s*x, national origin, religion, age, s*xual orientation, gender identity, marital status or mental or physical disability;
c. Defamatory or personal attacks;
d. The use of profane, obscene, threatening, or harassing language
e. Threats to any person or organization;
f. Comments in support of, or in opposition to, any political campaigns or ballot measures;
g. Solicitation of commerce, including but not limited to advertising of any business or product for sale;
h. Conduct in violation of any federal, state of local law;
i. Encouragement of illegal activity;
j. Information that may tend to compromise the safety or security of the public or public systems; or
k. Content that violates a legal ownership interest, such as a copyright, of any party.
3. The City of Fonda reserves the right to deny access to City of Fonda social media sites for any individual who violates the City of Fonda Social Media Policy, at any time without prior notice. The City reserves the right to restrict or remove any content that is deemed in violation of the social medial policy or applicable law.
4. The following verbiage can be used to warn individuals about their content: “Your recent post is in violation of the City of Fonda Social Media Policy. Please refrain from posting inappropriate content in the future. If you do not refrain from posting such content, we will block you from this forum. Thank you for understanding.”
5. Departments shall monitor their social media sites for comments requesting responses from the City and for usage in violation of this policy.
6. Department Supervisor or their designees, shall determine how employees must identify themselves when participating in the social media forum.
7. Comments requesting responses from the City will be answered during the normal office hours of 8:00 am to 4:30 pm.
8. City Clerk will respond as time permits. These guidelines must be displayed to users or made available by hyperlink. NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, by the City Council of the City of Fonda, Iowa, that the Social Media Policy as shown above is hereby adopted. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, by the City Council of the City of Fonda, Iowa, that the Mayor and City Clerk are hereby authorized and directed to execute this resolution. PASSED AND APPROVED this 1st day of June, 2022.
