Lamar council approves plan to turn off comments on city social media
The policy makes city accounts information channels; residents can still contact officials directly or speak at council meetings.
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Lamar’s City Council approved a policy to disable comments on city social-media accounts, shifting the pages toward sharing information rather than hosting online discussions. The council approved Resolution 2610-02 and authorized the mayor to sign it at its Oct. 26 meeting. The clerk reported the vote was unanimous, according to the meeting recording.
The city administrator said the policy would apply across city social-media sites. He cited vulgarity, personal attacks and negative comments, saying they could give people watching council meetings online a poor impression of the community. The mayor said city pages should be suitable for young people seeking basic information, such as whether polls are open.
The administrator said the police department already had comments disabled and that he believed Parks and Recreation did as well. He described the citywide policy as a way to make department practices consistent.
Residents can still call or email the administrator, contact council members, request an appointment or speak during public comment at a council meeting. Officials also mentioned council members’ separate pages and community forums as places for discussion.
The meeting record did not give an implementation date or identify which city accounts the policy covers.