Town of Cleveland, NC Social Media Policy

In order to better serve its citizens, the Town of Cleveland utilizes user engagement tools and websites, including social media channels, to provide citizens with information in more places and more ways than were traditionally available.

All Content of this site and all comments submitted to this page are public and are subject to disclosure pursuant to the state’s Public Records Law. Please be aware that anything you post may survive deletion whether by you or others.

• Requests for emergency services should be directed to 911 not through this site. Individual complaints, concerns, or service requests will not be addressed via social media unless the Town specifically identifies the site for that purpose.
• To protect your privacy and the privacy of others, please do not include sensitive personally identifiable information, such as social security numbers. The Town-hosted tools and websites should not be considered secure.
• Posts to this site may be edited or removed under the Town’s policy for social media sites if allowed by law and under this policy but may be preserved as a public record.
• The Town also reserves the right to discontinue any and all social media sites at any time.
• Practical and Legal considerations may sometimes constrain, prevent, or prohibit discussion by the Town of certain topics, including, but not limited to litigation, pending investigations, and other topics through various media including social media.
• Following or “friending” persons or organizations is not an endorsement by the Town and is only intended as a means of communication.
• Any references or links to a specific entity, product, service or organization posted by individuals on the Town social media sites should not be considered an endorsement by the Town or its departments, Employees or Officers.
• The Town does not review, sponsor, or endorse any other website(s) linked to its website or to any Town social media sites. The views and opinions of authors expressed on those websites do not necessarily state or reflect the opinion of the Town and may not be quoted or reproduced for the purpose of stating or implying any endorsement or approval of any product, person, or service by the Town, or its Employees or Agents.
• The Town is not responsible for content that appears on external links.
• The Town is not responsible for and does not guarantee the authenticity, accuracy, appropriateness or security of any link, external website or its content.
• Investors determining whether to invest or continue to invest in the Town’s debt offerings should not rely on information posted on the site in making their decisions to invest or not to invest; information regarding the Town’s financial position is available at the office of the Town Clerk..
• By accessing this site, posting or commenting I acknowledge having been advised of the foregoing.

The purpose of this site is to discuss matters of public interest in and to the Town of Cleveland as identified and raised by the Town for discussion. We encourage you to submit comments that are on topic, but please address your comments to the specific topic(s) discussed. This is a forum limited to the specific topics identified and raised by the Town. Users who submit Content to this Town social media site agree they have read, understand and agree to the following terms and conditions by virtue of such use:

Terms of Use

1. I am submitting content voluntarily and on my own behalf.
2. The content I post reflects my own original thoughts or work.
3. I understand that the Town has the right to re-post or share any content, photos or videos that I submit on this or other Town social media sites.
4. I have read and understand the Policy, including the right of the Town to remove, redact or archive content as described in the Town’s policy and as may be allowed by law.
5. I understand that multiple violations of this policy may result in a public user’s comments/postings being banned from Town social media sites.
6. I understand that any content posted or submitted for posting by the public is subject to public disclosure in accordance with the State of North Carolina’s Public Records Laws.
7. I understand that public comments on the Town’s social media sites may be blocked, hidden or removed if in violation of the Town’s content-neutral comment standards. All comments/postings that are blocked, hidden or removed from Town social media sites shall be retained until such time as the Town Attorney’s Office advises otherwise.
8. I understand that unless specifically identified as a resource for receiving requests for information under the state public information laws, Town social media sites are not proper vehicles for making requests for public information or public records under state law and any such requests must be made to the appropriate custodian of the records.
9. I understand that my comments are subject to removal, redaction and archiving from this site and I understand that the comments of others are subject to removal, redaction or archiving if my or their comments contain:

• vulgar, abusive, obscene, indecent or profane language; defamatory statements nudity or pornographic images in comments, posts, profile pictures, or attachments.
• personal direct attacks, hate speech that is directed at race, color, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, ethnicity, age, disability or gender identity.
• promotion or encouragement of illegal activity.
• the solicitation, promotion or endorsement of specific commercial services, products or entities.
• apparent violations of the intellectual property right of the Town or a third party.
• links to any site or content posted by automatic software programs (i.e. “bots”)
• the promotion or endorsement of a political campaign or candidate.
• comments not directly on the topic raised for discussion.
• information that directly interferes or compromises ongoing investigations, public safety tactics, or the safety of the public safety officers.
• confidential or exempt information.
• personally identifiable information or sensitive personal information.

10. I also understand that the views and comments expressed on this site only reflect those of the comment’s author, and do not necessarily reflect the official views of the Town, its elected officials and appointed Officers and Employees or its departments and agencies.

11. Waiver of Liability. Because various laws exist that create liability for various actions, including but without limitation defamation, invasion of privacy, false light, breach of contract, procurement violations, violations of due process among many potential areas of exposure for which the Town accepts no responsibility based on the actions of others or for hosting this social media site, I, for myself, successors and assigns, release and hold harmless and agree to indemnify the Town, including its Officers and Employees, from any and all actions, claims, liabilities and damages of whatever kind and nature arising out of or in connection with my use of the Town social media site/Account.

By posting or commenting I acknowledge that I understand these terms of use.