The PC used to have an open Facebook page and had to close it due to HUGH amounts of abuse from certain quarters (especially regarding development and by certain members of the public).
We now have a locked-down page, where only certain councillors can post, for example, head of Planning who can put up planning items, the Parish Clerk who can put up Notices, etc, the aim to get information out, NOT to open discussions online on our page. If someone wishes to discuss an item they are more than welcome to raise it at the next Parish Meeting, when they can attend, or by letter/email into the Parish Clerk.
Yes, we are fully aware that people will 'share' our post and discuss this in their own space, as they were doing when they shared from our Website, but that is in their space, and we do welcome this, plus in certain circumstances, we can also share with our other local Facebook pages
This has been agreed and is set in our policies, it has also been consulted on by those who responded to our various Q&As before we launched it, as a result when we put out an item on Facebook, a hell of a lot more people are made aware.
And yes, the JD has already been amended to reflect the changes required. But even in the new age (IT Age), it is just the clerk still likes to see thing in Black and White, we do not have a problem with. OK, our clerk may be old fashioned and yes at times we do curse under our breath because it slows matters down, in this case it slowed it down until they had the correct information.
And yes, as a PC we are more than capable, as our IT and Communications lead is a specialist IT consultant, who used to run a government IT team, who is ably training all the Councillors, on the MS365 packages, including SharePoint and Team Work, etc. We also have dedicated email addresses, our own government-approved secure domain, secure Cloud UK based storage (and backups), and business packages that fully conform with UK guidance.
If you had asked the same, 18 months ago, the then PC would have replied on parchment, written the reply with a quill and delivered by a 17th C dispatch horse rider. At that time the average on the PC was also significantly in excess of 70, it is now in the lower 50s, In the end the electorate won and the PC entered into the 20th Century...next year we move into the 21st Century!
Unfortunately, we still have our hermit councillor that doesn't want contact with the public, abstains from all votes, makes complaints on a daily basis, has cost the electorate several thousands of pounds over the last 10 years, and is currently trying to sue both the ICO and the Government because he doesn't want his name even being known to other councillors, we have asked but he refuses to step aside, despite being in their 80s and living with an element of dementia!!! (we had a by-election and he got on by default)!
