'No easy answer' on social media use, expert tells Kalispell City Council

After weeks of heated discussions about the appropriate use of social media by elected officials, the Kalispell City Council seemed content to drop the debate during a work session Monday evening.

The council brought in two experts on local government — Dan Clark from Montana State University's Local Government Center and Alan Hulse from the Montana Municipal Interlocal Authority — to weigh in on the issue, but their input provided little clarity.

"You're not going to come to a resolution to this," Clark told the council during the two-and-a-half-hour session.

The social media debate sprang up earlier this year when a Facebook user left an offensive comment on a post from council member Ryan Hunter.

Attention to the post led city officials to debate whether social media platforms can ever be responsibly managed by elected officials. The discussion eventually included concerns that the city could be sued for violating Montana's open meeting laws if a council member discusses policy matters in public posts.

The experts on Monday couldn't give council members clear direction as they considered whether to impose a social media policy on themselves.

"There's no easy answer," Hulse admitted.

Clark said a discussion between council members constitutes a meeting under state law if there is a quorum present — five members, in the case of the Kalispell City Council — and if those members are hearing, discussing or acting on official city issues.

He added social media platforms could differ from traditional means of disseminating information, such as radio interviews or letters to the editor, depending on the content of the messaging — whether it is being used to inform the public or engage them to think a certain way about an issue.

Clark advised the council to consider alternative ways to disseminate information and seek to establish norms for the council, rather than official policies, regarding appropriate social media use.

Although the council had considered adopting an official policy, members voiced no support for such a proposal on Monday. The council does not take official actions during work sessions.

The discussion grew contentious as Hunter, whose Facebook post spurred the social media debate, accused other council members of a pattern of unfriendly treatment, alleging one unspecified member had ignored his phone calls, refused to talk to him and rolled their eyes at his proposals since he joined the council in fall 2019.

"I have a long list of the ways I've been treated since before I got on this council," he said. "I've been reluctant to bring it up because it's so petty and so ugly. … It's been going on for a year and a half, and I'm sick of it."

In response, Mayor Mark Johnson recognized Hunter recently has made changes on his Facebook page, including adding a disclaimer that his opinions don't represent the council as a whole.

Reporter Bret Anne Serbin may be reached at 406-758-4459 or bserbin@dailyinterlake.com