Indian Trail Town Board discusses social media policy for board members
INDIAN TRAIL, NC (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — Indian Trail Town Board members engaged in a heated discussion Tuesday night over what members can post on their political social media pages.
The conversation was sparked by town board members Todd Barber and Tom Amburgey‘s Facebook pages. Both shared a post in April, about a conference in Winston-Salem for elected officials that some board members attended. Barber and Amburgey’s post claimed the board members played golf and used town money to fund the trip. Indian Trail Mayor David Cohn says that’s not true.
“Not one person played golf, not one, only three people stayed up there, and many of us drove up there and used our own money,” Mayor Cohn said.
Barber was censured by fellow board members in September of 2023 after he posted the town planner’s comments out of context. His post made some citizens believe the town wanted to tear down churches.
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“If you are putting someone on social media that can be misconstrued, at least think about respecting those who voted to put us in office,” Clarence Alsobrooks, Indian Trail Town Board said. “Each one of us was voted by the people of Indian Trail and we should not look to give them misleading information about people they put in office.”
The Indian Trail Town Attorney is now drafting an official policy to outline what board members can post on political pages. A US Supreme Court ruling does not allow elected officials to block citizens or delete comments.
“I blocked you guys when I was accused of something and the media came at me,” Tom Amburgey, Indian Trail Town Board, said. “I blocked a bunch of people because I didn’t want my name in the street anymore.”
The board hopes laying out the policy can help improve the working relationship between board members.
“We don’t have to bring each other down to bring ourselves up,” Crystal Buchaluk, from the Indian Trail Town Board said. “We’re all on a team and if we can’t work together, we’re not going to succeed in making our town successful.”
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