Lacey Council balks at muzzle

Members of the Lacey City Council resisted efforts on behalf of the city to refrain from talking about city actions on their individual Facebook pages and other social media outlets.

At a recent work session, councilmembers recognized the problems associated with talking about city issues on their individual Facebook pages, but balked at some of the suggestions city staff had made.   These included not referencing anything to do with the city.  City staff wanted councilmembers to use a new City of Lacey Facebook page for all their posts.

City staff were concerned that some of the councilmembers had been making comments on city issues on their Facebook pages.  That’s something staff thought might violate several state statutes including the Open Public Records Act where social comments might be public records.

Most of the Lacey councilmembers understood the problem, but weren’t ready to give up all of the freedom of full expression.  They instructed staff to come back with policies that would accomplish the goal of protecting the city while at the same time allowing them some freedom of expression on social media.