Fairness in Taxes Website- Posting Protocol

This is the website posting protocol that was discussed at the FIT meeting. It was originally presented and approved on August 3, 2018.

1. Background: The mission of Fairness in Taxes is to serve taxpayers and residents in a fact-finding and advisory capacity, providing officials and citizens the resources needed to actively promote effective and efficient governance and education.
   1. FIT members are experts on the areas such as budget, capital planning, school board, zoning, and the environment.
   2. We actively participate in the community by hosting mayoral and council debates, attending and speaking at city council meetings, government commissions and boards, writing letters to newspapers, government officials, taxpayers, and residents, and blogging on Facebook. On occasion, FIT purchases advertisements to shine light on particular aspects of government affairs and hosts speakers on a variety of topics important to taxpayers and residents.
   3. For the past two years, FIT has focused on projecting a positive image in the community through participating in Welcome Night, the Spring and Fall Block Parties, and the Memorial Day Business Persons Plunge in the Ocean.
   4. In order to “serve taxpayers and residents”, members are expected to show the highest level of decorum, to refrain from crude and derogatory language, and to avoid personal attacks so as to reflect well on Fairness in Taxes.
   5. One area that has been particularly troublesome in maintaining the positive image of FIT is social media. The easy access to social media tools, like Facebook, makes social media a very popular tool with which to present opinions and observations. Facebook pages, such as OC Chatter and Ocean City, NJ Flooding, are frequented by a variety of people, some of whom can become very aggressive and caustic.
   6. Recently, FIT was drawn into controversy when one of its board members began Facebook exchanges with a City Councilman, each calling the other a liar. The exchanges were very upsetting to the City Councilman and the Ocean City government, and reflected quite poorly on FIT. The unfortunate incident effectively wiped out all the good will that FIT had worked so hard at building up over the past two years.
2. FIT Website Protocol:
   1. The purpose of the FIT website is to provide a repository of information that will be of significant value to the government, taxpayers, and residents. Safely away from the chaos and confusion of the internet and social media, the FIT website will allow the viewer access to documents, videos, blogs, and comments in an orderly and controlled environment. For many citizens, the website may constitute the first impression of FIT. As the saying goes, “There’s never a second chance to make a good first impression.”
   2. To guarantee the positive content of the website, the FIT Webmaster, David Hayes, will approve all collateral before it is posted and none of the following will be posted without his approval:
      1. Documents, videos, and pictures
      2. Comments to articles and videos

• Blogs

1. The Member’s Forum will be password-protected and carefully monitored by the Webmaster for appropriate content. Repeat offenders will be blocked from posting comments by the use of the website “blacklist” and revocation of Forum privileges.

3. To reiterate, the new FIT website will be treated as if it is the public face of FIT. There will be no personal attacks, name-calling, taunting, mocking, slander, arguments, or any other type of interchanges that reflect poorly on FIT.