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LEETONIA -- Leetonia Mayor Kevin Siembida asked village council to consider a social media policy during Wednesday's council meeting.
Siembida explained that currently the village does not have an official protocol or procedures regarding its social media and said not having a policy opens the village up to liability when it comes to record-keeping of online posts and other material.
"We don't really have a direct policy on social media and how we handle it. We need to draft an actual policy -- how we utilize the village social media and how it's stored because it's all public records. That's kind of the concern on our end. If someone deletes a comment on facebook, that's a deletion of a public record because it's considered a public forum. So we need to establish a policy and actually regulate the pages. It involves what system and what ways we are going to do it. We really need to come up with some perimeters."
Siembida further exclaimed that while the village uses a company for posting, there is no protocol as to how those posts are retained or recorded.
"We have to be careful with who can post and how they can post," he said. "The problem with social media is say I put something up there and if somebody posts under there and it causes some controversy if somebody deletes that thread, because it was on our forum, if somebody even deletes their own comments, that's a deletion of a public record. Right now, we don't have full control of it but we can still be held liable for it."
Siembida said that since social media is needed as 80% of residents receive village information through it, a policy is also needed. Council took the request under advisement.
In other matters, council approved the first reading of several pieces of legislation. The first reading of a motion to move forward on an Ohio Water Development Authority loan for the Cherry Fork waterline project was approved as was a contract with Fairfield Township for fire services and CCH Solid Waste District. Siembida also requested legislation be drafted to contract with Columbiana County for dispatcher services at an annual rate of $41,600 -- an increase for $3,000.
In committee news, street superintendent Ed Allen reported that the village has been utilizing its own equipment to sweep and clean village streets, saving the village $7,000 each time the job is not contracted out.
Leetonia Fire Chief Larry Hephner Jr. requested permission to hire Johnathan Simpson as a firefighter, zoning officer Gavin Rambo reported he is still awaiting lien-termination requests for stakeholders of the property on 27 Main St. and Heather Kelm reported that electrical updates are needed at the cemetery chapel. Kelm also announced that the cemetery board instituted a new policy prohibiting "hanging vaults" -- the process of lowering a vault into a grave manually using ropes. Kelm said due to safety issues all vaults must be interred mechanically.
Village fiscal officer Nick Mistovich presented several financial matters that were approved -- including the paying of last month's bills, the cash summary as presented, and bank reconciliations for December and January. Transfers from the general account to the police pension ($3,000), cemetery ($3,000) and street ($10,000) funds were approved.
Mistovich also received approval from council for health care renewal at 7.49% with Medical Mutual for village employees and permission to look into offering employees supplemental insurance (vision, eye and disability coverage) to be paid by employees who opt in.
"Some employees were asking about supplemental insurance like dental, vision, accident, short-term disability," he said. "That would be 100% paid by the employee. I would just take the money out of their pay, and pay their insurance company. It just offers employees more insurance possibilities if the employee wants it. I see no problem in that.
Mistovoch said two companies -- Colonial and Aflac -- are vying to provide the supplemental insurance. Council was advised that legislation would likely be needed once a company is chosen as it modifies the current insurance policy.
In personnel matters, Siembida recommended hiring Kelm as the village's part-time law clerk. Council approved the recommendation.
Council will next meet Feb. 21 at 6:30 p.m.
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