Social Media Policy

Definition

The Atwater Township Board of Trustees' (referred to as 'Township') social media is defined as any web application, site, or account operated by the Atwater Township Board of Trustees, Atwater Township Fire Department, Maintenance/Road Department, Zoning Department, or other township departments.

Purpose

This policy establishes guidelines for the use of social media sites as a means to expand access to public information for residents about Township news, events, meetings, meeting minutes, announcements, and other official business. The township website, www.atwatertwp.net, remains the primary source of official, legal, or transactional documents. Resident participation at Township meetings remains the preferred avenue for exchange of ideas and concerns regarding the Township.

Administration & Oversight

All social media accounts are administered under the supervision of the IT Administrator, as directed by the Township Trustees. Any changes to accounts, moderation practices, content policies, or security settings require coordination with or approval from the IT Administrator and Township Trustees. Department heads may be assigned as secondary administrators but remain accountable to the IT Administrator for compliance with this policy and state law.

Posting Authority

Posting on Township sites is limited to the Trustees, IT Administrator, designated department heads, and those individuals given explicit permission by the Board to post. Keep in mind that all posts are considered the “voice” of the township, may be considered public record, and must be conducted in the appropriate manner consistent with Township policy and applicable law. The Atwater Township Board of Trustees strongly encourages a “no-response” approach to comments posted to the Township's sites, except when answering direct informational questions i.e. dates, time, place.

Comments & Moderation

Comments posted to the Township's social media pages are solely those of the user, not those of the Atwater Township Board of Trustees. Atwater Township Trustees, through the IT Administrator, reserve the right to remove comments containing (but not limited to) any of the following prohibited content:

• Abusive, threatening, harassing, discriminatory, or illegal material directed toward individuals
• Sexual content or link
• Comments or content that may compromise the safety or security of the public or public systems
• Comment violating the privacy rights of others
• Copyrighted or commercial material without permission
• Political solicitation
• Spam

Moderation Procedures

1. 1Before removing any comment, the administrator must determine if it meets one of the prohibited categories above and document the specific reason.
2. 2A screenshot or archive copy of the comment must be saved prior to deletion.
3. 3Removal of any comment must be reported to the IT Administrator within 24 hours with documentation of the reason and the preserved record.
4. 4Comments removed due to viewpoint, political disagreement, or criticism of Township officials or staff are NOT permitted. All removals must be based on objective policy violations only.
5. 5The IT Administrator maintains a log of all removals for audit and public records retention purposes which can then be forwarded to the Fiscal Officer for any public records requests as needed.

Public Records & Retention

Content posted to any Township site constitutes a public record as defined by Ohio's Public Records Act (O.R.C. 149.43). Posts created by or received by the Township and stored on the Township's social media pages will be retained as public records. Importantly, even posts that are removed due to prohibited content will constitute public records and remain subject to the Ohio Public Records Act.

Records will be preserved or deleted according to the current Atwater Township Record Retention Schedule and O.R.C. 9.64 requirements. If a social media page is no longer of use, such as outdated information, the page may be archived or deleted only if deletion follows applicable record retention schedules and state law.

Compliance & Legal Authority

This policy is established under the authority of O.R.C. 9.64 (Ohio Cybersecurity Law) and O.R.C. 149.43 (Ohio Public Records Act). The Atwater Board of Trustees reserves the right to amend or modify this policy at any time. All amendments will be documented and made available to the public.

Adoption

Approved by the Atwater Township Board of Trustees.