Council adopts social-media policy, asks staff to refine proclamations and decorum rules

Taylor City Council on Nov. 8, 2025, adopted a social-media policy for official city accounts but deferred final action on proclamation and decorum policies to allow staff to incorporate council feedback and public comment.

City staff presented three draft policies: a proclamation policy, a decorum/meeting-conduct policy and a social-media policy focused on council members’ official accounts. The social-media policy adopted by resolution R25-24 instructs that official city accounts be clearly labeled, remain public forums where users may comment, and that officials avoid campaigning from official accounts; it also reminded council members that personal accounts should be clearly identified as personal and that archival rules apply for public records.

The proclamation policy as drafted proposed a list of routinely issued proclamations tied to city programs and allowed the mayor discretion to approve other proclamations or to bring exceptions to council. Several speakers and council members raised concerns that the draft was overly restrictive or could exclude grassroots community recognitions; Councilwoman Shelly Cobb asked staff to narrow allowable proclamations to those tied to grants or certifications necessary for city programs, and asked staff to return with revised language.

On decorum, staff proposed rules limiting public comment time to three minutes, prohibiting pooled time (no transfer of unused speaker minutes), and restricting disruptive audience behavior; some council members and public speakers objected to a blanket ban on applause and to pooled-time prohibition. Council asked staff to revise the language to clarify the intent—preventing interruptions that disrupt meeting business—while preserving respectful public participation.

Council voted 5–0 to adopt the social-media resolution and gave direction to staff to return revised proclamation and decorum policies to reflect council guidance.