Sechelt is joining a growing number of municipalities that have set up a dedicated website to tackle residents’ questions and “fact check.”
A release announcing the new section of the district website, called “For the Record” (sechelt.ca/fortherecord), says, “The page was prompted by the number of emails council receives every day with citizens looking for information and the volume of misinformation that is shared on local community social media sites.”
Julie Rogers, communications manager, said: “Staff see a lot of misinformation posted on social media sites and our council receives five to 25 emails a week with people just trying to understand what is happening in their own community. The idea is that this page will become like a Sechelt Snopes, where citizens can go to find the facts.”
The “For the Record” page will be maintained by staff and will not deal with questions that can only be answered by members of council.
Coun. Mike Shanks suggested last summer that an initiative like this was needed. “This is an issue that I’ve brought up on a couple of occasions in terms of my frustration in terms of hearing misinformation out in the community about three or four specific projects that have been going on and been in the media,” Shanks said last year during the July 5 council meeting.
Coun. Noel Muller, meanwhile, noted during the April 4 council meeting that after an absence of several months he’d decided to get “back into the online sphere” himself, by commenting more in community groups and responding to the issues being raised. “I’ve always made a point of engaging our critics,” he said.
So far the “For the Record” page is comprised mainly of answers to questions posed by residents. Some of the answers, such as the explanation of why letters about a recent development variance decision were not included on an agenda, are quite detailed. Others, like the answer to the question, “Is there currently any money in the capital reserve?” are more direct. In that case the answer was, “No.”
