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Berkeley‐Charleston‐Dorchester Council of Governments Public Commenting Policy

The Berkeley‐Charleston‐Dorchester Council of Governments (BCDCOG) is committed to transparency and deeply values active participation from the residents it serves. The goal of this public commenting policy is to establish a set of guidelines that will facilitate the use of public input for these purposes through the use our website, email, texting, surveying, and social media tools.

No part of this policy shall be applied in a manner that prohibits or infringes upon any communication, speech or expression that is protected or privileged by law.

General Policy

  1. All official BCDCOG communication platforms will be operated and regularly monitored by designated administrators. These platforms shall be used for the sole purpose of informing the public about official BCDCOG business, including news, programs, services and events.
  2. Official social media sites should make clear the agency they are maintained by (BCDCOG, CARTA or other) and, wherever possible, should link back to official agency websites for forms, documents, online services and/or other useful resources.
  3. BCDCOG reserves the right to restrict or remove any content that is deemed in violation of this Social Media Policy or any applicable law (prohibited statements outlined below).
  4. All social media sites shall adhere to applicable federal, state and local laws, regulations and policies.
  5. Social media sites for government agencies are subject to the Freedom of Information Act. Social media content related to agency business, including a list of followers, posted communication, and communication submitted for posting, may be considered a public record subject to public disclosure.
  6. Employees of BCDCOG acting via their personal social media accounts must identify themselves as speaking on behalf of themselves and indicate that they are not reflecting the opinions of BCDCOG. Employees must conduct themselves in accordance with BCDCOG policies at all times.
  7. BCDCOG leaders reserve the right to expand or amend this Social Media Policy at any time.
  8. A violation of this policy may result in discipline, up to and including, termination.

Comment Policy

As a public entity, BCDCOG must abide by certain standards to preserve transparency and serve all its constituents in a civil and unbiased manner.

Prohibited statements and materials subject to removal and/or restriction by BCDCOG social media admins include content that is:

  • Defamatory and/or potentially libelous
  • Factually inaccurate
  • Racially offensive
  • Discriminatory
  • Vulgar, obscene, sexually explicit, and/or includes indecent language or images
  • Hateful or mean spirited including, but not limited to, personal attacks, insults, profanity, name calling or threats
  • Illegal
  • Promoting private ventures such as services, campaigns, organizations
  • Proprietary and confidential, when posted without consent
  • Infringement on the copyright of another person
  • Unsolicited promotion or spam

Confidential BCDCOG business shall not be disclosed on BCDCOG social media sites or personal social media sites belonging to BCDCOG employees.

BCDCOG reserves the right to remove any comments or postings that are found to be in violation of this policy. Any participants of BCDCOG social media sites who violate this policy may be permanently blocked.

Terms of Service

Each type of Social Media maintains a “Terms of Use” agreement. All comments posted to any Council of Governments Social Media Site are bound by these Terms of Use and the COG reserves the right to report any user violation.