Village of Valley Stream rolls out new communications policy for employees

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The Village of Valley Stream board of trustees is implementing a new policy of guidelines for its employees in the next two weeks, so that their voiced opinions or posts on social media aren’t misconstrued as the official position of the village.

“We are not calling it a social media policy — it’s a communications policy,” said Mayor Ed Fare. “To have the village speak with one voice. To be sure that opinions expressed by others are their own [and] not the village administration’s.”

Fare said there weren’t any specific incidents that led to the new rules, which are about two pages long and map out 10 parameters for employees to follow. According to Fare, the guidelines will also curtail the use of social media by village employees during work hours and are put in place keep workers from posting anything inappropriate.

Village Trustee Vincent Grasso said he originally had some trepidation about the policy when Fare went over it at a board meeting last month. Grasso said he believed “it’s a tight line to walk” when telling people what they can’t say. He added that the village attorney was able to clarify some of the language and he’s now more comfortable with it.

“It’s like fire,” Grasso said about social media. “It’s one of those things that’s a great tool, but in the wrong hands and without due diligence, it can become a great problem.”

According to Fare, the policy doesn’t apply to trustees. “I can’t censor them,” he said. “They’re elected in their own right.”

Fare said in the wake of heightened social media buzz over President-elect Donald Trump and the Green Acres PILOT issue, he wanted something in place to make sure employees go through the chain of command and don’t speak for the village — even unintentionally.

“Everybody’s spewing something about the [Hempstead Industrial Development Agency],” Fare said. “The official position of the village is posted on our website. If the guy picking up your recycling or blowing your leaves believes the IDA is stupid, that doesn’t mean it’s the village’s position. At the same time, if he thinks the IDA is the best thing since sliced bread, that’s also not necessarily the village’s position.”

According to Fare, human resources will counsel anyone who violates the new ordinance and multiple violations may lead to the trustees getting involved.