Buffalo Grove Officials Consider Creating a Facebook Page

As Buffalo Grove looks into keeping residents informed via Facebook without spending time or money on the effort, at least one official is objecting to the village’s proposal to take the “social” out of social media.

Elected officials and staff discussed Monday a plan to introduce a Facebook page for the purpose of promoting special events, village announcements and public meetings. The police department could also use the page to disseminate educational messages, said Leisa Niemotka, assistant to Village Manager Dane Bragg.

The Facebook messages would come from RSS feeds from the village’s website, meaning staff would not have to dedicate time to to updating the page, Niemotka said. Links posted on the page would drive traffic back to the village’s website, she said. Under the proposal, there is no plan for village staff to monitor the page or respond to questions or comments posted by its fans.

“You’re missing the point of Facebook. If we’re not going to respond, we’re only going to frustrate people who feel like they are being ignored,” Trustee Jeff Berman said. If the village starts a Facebook page, a staff member will need to spend time on it each day to respond to residents’ questions, he said.

“When people go there, they expect to interact,” he said. “We need to prepared to do that or not do it at all.” 

Trustee Steve Trilling said he was concerned that the page could become a landing space for inflammatory comments. 

Staff would not be responsible for removing inappropriate or profane comments, officials said. Instead, they’d rely on Facebook’s filters to catch them. Any correspondence sent through the page’s inbox would be considered public record and could be obtained, as can emails to and from village staff, through Freedom of Information requests.

Trustee Mike Terson wondered whether the page is necessary.

“Are we going to put out information that is going to reach people that we wouldn’t otherwise reach?” he asked. 

The discussion came about two years after the village’s communications survey revealed that the vast majority of residents were not interested in receiving village news via Facebook. 

Monday’s discussion was held during a committee of the whole meeting, in which officials could not take formal action. They said they will gather information about other villages’ social media use and revisit the topic at a later date.