Altona town council has put a new policy in place to provide some direction when it comes to communicating with the community through social media.

From the outset, this council has wanted to be more transparent and engage more with its citizens and has used social media as part of that effort. This new policy provides some structure for that kind of communication, according to Mayor Al Friesen.

"It would apply to animal control, Altona Police Service, the fire department, recreation and general administration; all those areas in which the town interacts through social media with our community and we thought it was a creative structure for our staff to moderate that dialogue but still ensure that there is an open dialogue, candid dialogue and respectful dialogue. This policy provides structure to make that happen."

Altona has used its presence on Facebook to interact with local citizens on a variety of issues that they have questions about or may want to express an opinion about. Friesen feels the platform has worked well.

"If it relates to our Facebook page people ask questions about the height of a fence, the annual town cleanup, our recent boil water advisory and our discussion on the replacement of the pool liner. Those are all areas in which people who live in this community are able to interact with administration in a way that works for them."

Friesen said their new policy is the first of its kind for the community and formalizes what they are trying to do through various social media platforms in a consistent and professional manner.