Town of Devon undertakes municipal policy review

DEVON -- Devon Council explored municipal policy changes at this week's regular meeting.

The goal of the review was to consider changes to policies which have become outdated over time, and to also table various new policies for Council's consideration. The policies looked at during this week's meeting included corporate communications, corporate identity, public engagement, social media, digital and electronic signatures, and technology use and internet access.

The goal of the new corporate communications policy is to establish principles and expectations for clear, transparent, inclusive, and consistent communication by the Town of Devon, ensuring public trust, employee alignment, and effective information sharing. Corporate Services Manager Courtney Risser spoke about the proposed changes at this week's Council meeting.

"This is all new, and is not the way that the policy was previously laid out," said Risser. "I think it's a lot more clear and concise -- the way we've got it formatted now -- because it clearly identifies what everyone's responsibilities are."

Meantime, the new corporate identity policy aims to protect and promote the Town of Devon's visual identity by establishing clear guidelines for the appropriate use of the Town's corporate identity. Risser says this will apply to all municipal employees, elected officials, contractors, and any external individuals.

"This is more of a public policy so that people understand what rights they have -- or don't have -- when it comes to using our logo," said Risser.

Risser says the goal of the public engagement policy is to promote meaningful, inclusive public participation in the Town's decision-making and planning, while the social media policy outlines rules to ensure the responsible, effective, and consistent use of social media by the Town of Devon to serve the community, while also protecting Devon's reputation.

The digital and electronic signatures policy relates to the rules and requirements of municipal council and staff when using electronic signatures, while the new technology use and internet access policy aims to ensure the secure, consistent, and policy-compliant use of technology and internet resources.