A Notice of Rescission was presented to Council at its meeting 23 March 2021.

The motion requesting Council rescind the resolution made at the February Council meeting for Item 8.2: Outcome of Public Exhibition of Councillor Use of Social Media Policy was lost.

View the Minutes (Item 16.1)

The defeated motion means the policy is now adopted as per the February meeting resolution.

Social media is an important communication, engagement and customer service channel which can encourage dialogue between Councillors and the community.

In June 2020, Council endorsed a Notice of Motion (No 25/2020) to develop a Social Media Policy for Councillors. Subsequently, the draft policy was prepared in late 2020 and resolved by Council in November to be placed on public exhibition between 11 January and 10 February 2021. A total of 10 submissions were received.

This policy provides guidance for Councillors with regards to confidentiality, governance, privacy, record keeping and other legal and regulatory risks when using social media.

The policy defines a set of principles to ensure communication between Councillors and the community will be in a manner that:

• informs the community about the decisions of Council, policies, programs, services and decisions
• promotes two-way communication
• builds a highly informed and engaged community
• accurately responds to community comments and requests
• complies with relevant laws and regulations, and ensures the confidentiality of Council information
• respects the democratic process acknowledging Council resolutions represent the majority view.