Use this search box to find articles that have run in our newspapers over the last several years.
Date: 11/13/2023
BELCHERTOWN — At its Nov. 6 meeting, the Select Board discussed adopting a new social media policy and prepared questions for a future visit from a state legislative delegation.
The Communications Committee has actively worked on implementing a social media policy for the town.
The policy applies to town officials, town staff and the volunteers for the different committees and boards.
Communication Committee Chair Chris Martin said, “It covers all the responsibilities around social media.
What they can do, what they can’t do. We are advising them that the more they can the more they should have links back to the town website, use official town logos, official town terminology. At the same point we are also saying if you are using social media on a personal side, please don’t say this is official town capacity if you are replying to something or posting something personally.”
Martin said that a policy was drafted, presented and approved by the Select Board a few years ago but nothing happened past that.
The committee decided they wanted to implement that policy but upon review, members realized it needed to be updated.
Martin said, “Upon looking at the document and seeing it, it really didn’t make a whole lot of sense and was more geared strictly towards Facebook instead of all social media. It was outdated at this point as is any sort of document relating to technology that was written four, five years ago is today.”
Martin said the committee has collected data from other social media policies including major corporations and surrounding communities to draft the new policy.
Martin said, “I think we are in a much better spot to have a document that is more inclusive. It’s going to be a little bit longer but it’s going to include a lot more information. We tried to make it, so it is clear for as many people as possible.”
Town Administrator Steve Williams said that this project coming together has been years in the making and is happy the Communication Committee was able to finish it.
He added, “It has been a long time coming. I guess we could say years but most recently I think the biggest flurry of activity was over the last four or five months. The Communications Committee really stepped up and worked very hard on this process.”
Williams also informed the board that he has been trying to set up a visit from state Sen. Jake Oliveira (D-Ludlow) and state Rep. Aaron Saunders (D-Belchertown) to discuss questions board members may have.
He added that he plans for that visit to take place at the beginning to middle of December and Oliveira’s office would like a list of question ahead of time to be ready to provide all the information needed.
The Select Board discussed various items they would like to be addressed including budgets, unrestricted local aid, Massachusetts School Building Authority, a potential increase to Chapter 90 funds, continued support and funding for the former State School property and an update on the town’s transition from a town administrator to a town manager.
At May Town Meeting, residents approved transitioning the town administrator position to a town manager.
Since then, the Select Board has been working with the Massachusetts General Court and state Legislature in Boston to pass a law to hire a town manager to give the position more day to day responsibilities so the Select Board can focus on long-term goals and solutions for the town.
Williams added that he is hoping that transition will be approved by the end of the year.
Unrestricted general aid is something that the Select Board said they would like to see increased further.
Select Board Chair Ed Boscher said, “If you see a graphical representation of the unrestricted general aid and how that hasn’t even gone up by any measure of inflation over the last 10 years. Meanwhile you can overlay that with the Belchertown costs and overall budget. It’s striking that the state continues to put more and more of the burden on the homeowners in Belchertown.”
From FY22-24, Belchertown has received $1.8 million, $1.9 million and $2 million respectively in unrestricted general aid.