City updates code of conduct for council with public communication policy

Jan 10, 2024 | 12:00 PM

The city of Vernon has updated its code of conduct for city councillors on how they communicate with the public.

At the committee of the whole meeting Monday, Jan. 8, council received a revised version of the council code of responsible conduct policy.

The revised guidelines include a new public communication section, which outlines how formal statements on behalf of the city are presented to the public and media, as well as how council members use social media in a personal and professional manner.

As per the policy, the mayor is the official spokesperson for the City of Vernon, and members of council must refrain from speaking on decisions made by council on behalf of the city unless expressly authorized to do so. Members not authorized to speak on behalf of the city or council must refer requests for comment to Vernon’s communication manager.

Councillors interacting with people online should ensure that they clarify their positions on matters related to council decisions or city policies are their opinions and not those of the city or council. Members must also refrain from making disparaging comments about staff, not share discriminatory material, and must not disclose confidential information.

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“Members are responsible for the integrity of their public comments. Regardless of whether members agree with a decision of council, they will act respectfully and communicate accurately when discussing the decision with the public and/or media, regardless of how they personally voted,” read the revised policy.

The original policy, which was adopted in April of 2023 and remains unchanged aside from the addition of public communication, focuses on four key points: integrity, respect, accountability, and leadership and collaboration.

The policy also outlines how council members should conduct themselves in various situations such as interacting with staff, addressing conflicts of interest, collecting and handling information, and receiving gifts, along with the process for addressing bullying and harassment.

At council’s regular meeting on Monday council voted unanimously in favour of accepting and adopting the updated guidelines.

Speaking with Vernon Matters following the meeting, Mayor Victor Cumming said the policy was very similar to those in place in other area communities and was based on the policy created and put in place by the City of Salmon Arm.

“Lots of [Okanagan municipalities] have used the bulk of what they came up with; we’ve made some adjustments to ours here locally and we made a tiny adjustment here today,” Cumming stated.

“It’s a pretty strong code of conduct.”

The policy was already in place, so the updates came into effect immediately following approval and adoption at the regular meeting.

by Liam Verster

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