Columbus councilmen have approved a social media policy for city employees, as well as an ordinance banning firearms on city property.
The actions were taken Tuesday.
The new social media rules for city employees state inappropriate online postings include “discriminatory remarks, harassment, and threats of violence or similar inappropriate or unlawful conduct.” Violators of the policy, it adds, could face disciplinary action up to termination as decided by the city council.
Councilman Charlie Box asked city attorney Jeff Turnage where specific penalties for violations could be found in the policy. Turnage said the city’s personnel policy manual has a section on discipline that outlines potential penalties.
The social media policy, which the council passed unanimously, recognizes that the police and fire departments already have their own guidelines regarding social media. The new policy includes a sentence stating that employees of those departments should follow both sets of rules.
Turnage said the draft of the city-wide policy he brought before the council was a verbatim copy of a model created by the National Labor Relations Board. The policy initially stated only David Armstrong, the city’s chief operations officer, and Pat Mitchell, director of human resources, could give employees permission to speak to members of the media.
Turnage told council members they could ease those restrictions if they wanted. The council did, choosing to tweak the policy so that department heads and public information officers could communicate with local media.
The policy allows city employees to identify themselves as such on social media but prohibits the posting of department logos, uniforms, badges and other official items as those acts may cause them “to be confused with a person speaking as a spokesperson for the department.”
The policy also advises employees to “keep in mind that their speech on social media sites becomes part of the world wide electronic domain.”
“Employees of the City of Columbus should be aware that privacy settings on social media sites are frequently changed by the administrators of social media sites,” the policy elaborates. “Therefore, city employees should always assume that content posted on such sites is being published to the world.”
The policy has been adopted in the wake of The Dispatch reporting Municipal Court Judge Nicole Clinkscales made references to race and appeared to endorse political candidates on her personal Facebook page. In her role as city judge, Clinkscales is a part-time city employee.
According to at least one law expert, Clinkscales’ political endorsements could violate the Mississippi Code of Judicial Conduct.
Box opposes
firearms ban
Councilmen also voted 5-1 to ban guns from “sensitive areas” in the city after Mississippi legislature was passed this summer permitting open carry.
The areas include: public meetings of the mayor and council; meetings of other city commissions within city boundaries; parks and community centers on park property; political rallies; parades; official political meetings; school property; non-firearm related professional athletic events; and municipal court when in session.
The three groups of people exempted include uniformed law enforcement on duty, people authorized by the mayor and council to possess a firearm and people with enhanced conceal carry permits issued by the state.
Box was the only opposing vote, citing second amendment rights.
“I can’t in good conscience vote for anything that limits the Second Amendment rights of the citizens of Columbus and the United States,” Box said.
Councilman Kabir Karriem asked Turnage to confirm the ordinance came straight out of the law of the code section from the state legislature, which Turnage did. Turnage added the ordinance does not include areas outside city buildings.
“The legislature has kind of handcuffed the mayor and city council on this issue,” Turnage said. “You may ask, ‘Why can’t we restrict a firearm in the parking lot outside (the municipal complex)?’ That’s not where the mayor and council are having their meeting, so it’s not in here. You might ask, ‘Why can’t we restrict it in the Trotter (Convention) Center? We don’t want people carrying a gun in there.’ That’s not allowed… We have an ordinance, and it’s not illegal to regulate the discharge of a firearm. It seems odd that you could carry around a firearm if you can’t shoot it.”
First offenders of the ordinance would be guilty of a misdemeanor and fined $100-$350. A repeat violation within three years of the first would also be a misdemeanor and subject to a $350-500 fine. A third would be guilty of a misdemeanor, fined $500-$999 and incarcerated 30-90 days as dictated by the council.
Columbus police chief Selvain McQueen will enforce the new ordinance.
The following actions were also taken:
■ Reappointment of Todd Gale, Mildred Monroe and Christina Berry to the tree board and of Robert Smith to the Golden Triangle Regional Solid Waste Management Authority;
■ Tabling an agreement regarding use of the Old Highway 82 Bridge for events. More information on this matter will be published in Thursday’s edition of The Dispatch;
■ Approval of a resolution requesting city project contractors use mostly local subcontractors;
■ Hiring of three police officers.
The board approved the following requests on consent with no discussion:
■ City department heads and council members to attend the Mississippi Municipal League Mid-winter Conference in Jackson at a to-be-determined travel cost. Registration fees, lodging and other costs are projected to add up to $7,392. This does not include mileage reimbursement;
■ The resignations of police officers Kevin Moore, Gregory Harstad, investigator Natasha Coleman-Brown and custodian Arthur Flournoy. Harstad will apply to be a reserve officer after his resignation as a full-time officer becomes effective Dec. 31;
■ Four police officers to attend a conference in Starkville at no cost to the city;
■ Two police officers to attend a conference in Anniston, Ala. at an estimated cost of $215.89;
■ An animal control officer to travel to a certification conference in Kansas City, Mo. at an estimated cost of $1,716.77;
■ Director of Federal Programs Travis Jones and George Irby to travel to a HOME workshop in Flowood. No estimated cost was provided in the city’s e-packet;
■ Mayor Robert Smith and Chief Operations Officer David Armstrong to travel to a local technical assistance training session in Southaven for an estimated travel cost of $614;
■ Three firemen to travel to a training session in Meridian for $195;
■ A fireman to travel to Hattiesburg for a training session for $457;
■ Chief Financial Officer Milton Rawle to issue checks to the National Fire Protection Agency Certification Department for a combined $910.
■ Two inspectors to attend a seminar in Gulfport for $456.80.
Nathan Gregory covers city and county government for The Dispatch.
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