Parksley council forms social-media/personnel committee after residents cite staff posts

Mayor Frank Russell and the Parksley Town Council moved on July 13 to form a combined social-media and personnel committee after several residents pressed officials over staff and council members’ social-media posts.

At a packed public comment period, Warren Phillips said town employees had used social media to call people “idiots, assholes,” and cited an incident at the DMV that left a customer upset. “There is no place for that,” Phillips said, to applause. Lauren Lewis told the council she had been “called an asshole and was accused of being on drugs” after posting about limbs in an alleyway and urged the council to consider termination for employees who make such posts.

Why it matters: Citizens said social-media posts by town employees and council members have damaged trust and reflected poor judgment; council members and the clerk expressed concern about how broad restrictions could conflict with official duties and FOIA responsibilities.

Clerk Letitia Greer warned that a sweeping prohibition on employees discussing town business could conflict with her duties as clerk and Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) officer. Attorney T. Dix said the clerk’s statutory responsibilities would not be nullified by a social-media policy but advised careful drafting. Councilman Dan Matthews argued the town needs clear rules on who may access and post on the town page and said employees and council members — not the public — should be administrators of the official Facebook account.

Council action and next steps: Rather than adopt the proposed 'canons of conduct' outright, council members voted unanimously to form a social-media/personnel committee and amended the motion so the committee’s first job is to create an employee handbook. Councilman John Parks made the motion, which Councilman Ricky Taylor seconded. The committee was authorized to draft policies that the full council will review at a later meeting.

What officials said: Mayor Russell described the canons as an initial step adapted from guidance and said he would form a small working group to refine the policy. Councilman Matthews urged the committee to ensure that supervisors and elected officials be held to the same standards expected of employees.

Community context: Multiple public commenters urged the council to pair social-media rules with broader conduct standards to address offline behavior they said led to online posts. The discussion followed months of local tensions over the transition to a new council and complaints about employee behavior.

The council did not adopt disciplinary measures at the meeting; the committee will draft language and return recommendations to the full council for a future vote.