Based on previous meetings on the subject, a contentious debate between the Albuquerque City Council and Mayor Tim Keller’s administration over social media use is likely to take center stage during Monday’s council meeting. At issue is councilors’ demand for more accountability from the administration, namely by proposing a new social media policy for city employees.
New social media rules
After the council blasted the Albuquerque Police Department (APD) several weeks ago, for the second time in as many years, over social media posts, Councilor Renée Grout introduced a proposal to enforce a new social media policy for city officials.
Grout brought up the posts — which were responses made to private citizens — during a Sept. 5 meeting and called them “disturbing.” Other councilors joined in confronting the administration.
An APD spokesperson would not tell City Desk ABQ who made the posts but confirmed to KOAT-TV that it was the department’s director of communications, Gilbert Gallegos.
“Any employee that is posting on a city social media account should remember that they are not just representing themselves but they represent the entire city,” Grout said. “Just because someone reaches out in a negative way, doesn’t mean that we should respond the same way.”
Her proposed policy outlines guidelines for defining what posts are appropriate and inappropriate for city social media accounts, potential consequences for misusing accounts and a plan to regularly monitor accounts to ensure they follow the policies.
The administration issued a policy in 2022 but it fails to define what is appropriate to post under the city banner, according to Grout. She said any posts from a city social media account should be “factual, respectful and helpful.”
The proposal passed unanimously through the Finance and Government Operations (FGO) Committee, receiving all five votes from Council President Dan Lewis, Councilors Dan Champine, Tammy Fiebelkorn, Klarissa Peña, and Louie Sanchez. The proposal could pass through the council if the five councilors vote the same way Monday night.
When she initially introduced the legislation, Grout said she thought it was “pretty straightforward, there shouldn’t be any reason why it would not move forward.”
City Desk ABQ has followed the proposal since Grout introduced it in September. Read more about the APD posts and resolution here.
Written Q&A requirement
Another proposal that may cause friction would require Keller’s administration to answer councilors’ questions in writing as part of the administration question-and-answer period at council meetings.
“There’s some stuff that I think the public wants to know about, and we want to know, in reference to what’s happening with the administration and how they’re handling things,” said Sanchez, the sponsor of the proposal. “We don’t get those answers all the time.”
As an example, Sanchez referred to the council’s Oct. 7 meeting when he asked the administration about a grant the city launched to help businesses that have been affected by vandalism.
Sanchez tried to apply for the grant after a window at his business was vandalized but was told he needed to have a police report. He told the administration he could not get a hold of the police department to file a report and asked why this was an issue. He said he never got a straight answer from the administration.
“I was trying to see what the public goes through, in reference to having to get this grant taken care of, and still nobody’s helped me,” Sanchez said.
Sanchez proposes that every question must be answered with a written response and sent to the council within 10 business days of the meeting. The questions and answers would then be shared on the council’s website.
The proposal also passed unanimously through the FGO Committee.
“I feel like I have other councilors’ support,” Sanchez said. “The bottom line is anything that’s asked in the public should be answered in public, and so many times we have not got the responses back from the administration.”
HOW TO PARTICIPATE:
WHEN: 5 p.m. Nov. 18
WHERE: Vincent E. Griego Chambers in the Albuquerque Government Center, 1 Civic Plaza NW
VIRTUAL: GOV-TV or on the city’s YouTube channel
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