To maintain its "long-standing" policy of communicating with its constituents, the town of Queen Creek needs to keep pace with the various opportunities social media Web sites present, town officials contend.

Queen Creek Town Council on June 17 heard a presentation on the possibility of the town jumping into the world of social media, using among other Web sites, Twitter and Facebook.

Although town officials contend they want to be a part of the social virtual landscape, they do not want to participate in blogs, namely http://www.newszap.com, according to a June 17 report to council.

Newszap is a service of Independent Newspapers Inc., which owns the Queen Creek Independent newspaper. The interactive Web site has forums for public issues and local news. Users must register to post and must agree to abide by a member pledge.

"The town of Queen Creek does not participate on community blogs such as Newszap, and staff is not recommending that it begin now," the report states. "... it would set a precedent of answering questions and complaints that are posted anonymously as well as create an expectation among the public that staff is online 24 hours a day, seven days a week to respond to them."

The social Web sites town staff are recommending usage of are YouTube, Flickr, Facebook and Twitter, according to the report to council.

"The town of Queen Creek has a long-standing policy of a high level of communication," said Dee Anne Thomas, Queen Creek Information and Marketing Services Department director, during the June 17 Queen Creek council meeting. "I think Queen Creek can be very proud of that."

Ms. Thomas said because the traditional media world — newspapers, T.V. and radio stations — are experiencing staff reductions and bankruptcies, the town has to evolve with the changing marketplace.

"We need to continue to maximize our services and how we communicate with residents," she said of how the World Wide Web is changing how residents get their information. "This could be an opportunity for Queen Creek to be a leader in the drafting of these policies."

Four members of council agreed with Ms. Thomas, but also voiced concern over the town’s usage of social Web sites.

"There is a lot of good, but there is also a lot of bad with them too," said Queen Creek Councilman Craig Barnes during the meeting.

Mr. Barnes asked that if the town is seeking community participation on a social Web site such as Facebook, then what is the difference between that and a blog.

"Aren’t we just turning our own site to a newszap?" he asked.

Mr. Barnes said the possibility for frivolous attacks on character or inaccurate information could become a problem with a social Web site.

"It caused a lot of problems," he said of past experiences where inaccurate information had been posted online. "Well, it opens up to that kind of stuff."

The issues pertaining to the legal ramifications of a public entity using a social Web site were also discussed during the June 17 presentation.

Certain issues being looked into were what constitutes a public record and how would open meeting law pertain to town council using a social Web site.

"Some of this is a developing field," said Fredda J. Bisman, Queen Creek town attorney, after the meeting. "What constitutes a record?"

Ms. Bisman says there is not much to comment on the issue because there has been little legal precedent on the issue.

"It only concerns the town if it is town business, but I don’t think anyone had ever contemplated this," she said.

Queen Creek Mayor Art Sanders said that although negative comments may come via the Web, it is important the town is aware of all opinions.

"I would welcome negative comments," he said during the meeting. "If there are negative comments about our community we need to know about them."

Queen Creek Councilman Jeff Brown says this is a move in the right direction for the town of Queen Creek. He also said that when Web site users are required to register their names, comments left are usually toned down a bit.

"This is meeting the residents where they are at," he explained at the meeting. "It’s just yet another avenue for our constituents."

Queen Creek Councilman Jon Wootten agreed.

"This is the right approach," he said during the meeting. "We might as well be included and put our face out there."

While good may come with the bad, Mayor Sanders said town officials need to develop a thick skin and take advantage of the opportunity presented by social Web sites.

"I don’t think we are going to be able to protect the world from Facebook," he joked.