A. The Village website is owned, operated and regulated by the Village and is an operating branch of the Village Administrator's Office. The Village Administrator, or his or her designee, acting as the Village web coordinator, shall work in consultation with the Village Board member in charge of communication and shall be responsible for posting on the Village website Village meeting dates and other Village-sponsored activities and program schedules, which are established based on direction from the Corporate Authorities of the Village and/or the Village Administrator and in accordance with this chapter. It is the responsibility of the web coordinator to coordinate and manage the Village website, exercising professional judgment in administering policies set forth by the Corporate Authorities, and determining what information and/or other website links shall be posted on the Village website. No Village department, division, or official entity governed by the Village may establish a website on the internet, for or on behalf of itself or the Village, that is independent from the Village's primary website without the express permission of the Village Administrator, or his or her designee, but decisions on matters of policy and website posting, shall be consistent with local community standards as determined by the Village web coordinator but may be reviewed from time to time by the Corporate Authorities as said Corporate Authorities determine to be necessary or appropriate generally and/or to the specific circumstances.
B. The web coordinator is also responsible for reviewing requests from Village officials, Village staff, other persons and other organizations to utilize the Village website to provide information pertinent to the Village and to the community as a whole. The web coordinator is responsible for determining the appropriateness of the content of the Village website and all information posted on and/or linked to the Village website, based on the policies and procedures established herein or as amended from time to time by the Corporate Authorities. If the request for posting information and/or a website link is denied by the web coordinator, the applicant may appeal the denial to the Village Board within ten (10) business days of the denial. Denial of a submittal for posting to the Village website shall be in writing, shall be sent to the applicant by regular mail, shall state the reason for the denial, and may, if appropriate, offer recommendation(s) for modifying the content of the submittal to qualify for posting on the Village website. The appeal of such denial shall also be in writing and shall state the basis for the appeal, and shall be submitted to the Village Administrator. The Village Administrator may present said appeal to the Village Board who shall consider the appeal at its next regularly scheduled meeting, or at a special meeting, if the Village President determines that this is required by the nature of the matter being appealed. The party appealing may also appear before the Board to present its appeal and the web coordinator or other applicable Village representatives may be given the opportunity at that same time to respond to the appeal in person or in writing.
C. The Village Administrator is directly responsible to the Corporate Authorities of the Village for the efficient, effective, and responsive operation of the Village website. As the elected officials of the Village, the Corporate Authorities of the Village retain final authority for establishing the overall policies and procedures related to the operation of the Village website.
D. The Village website will provide information to Village residents and businesses, visitors to the community, and the general public, concerning the Village, and the functions, activities, programs and issues of the Village. The Village website constitutes governmental speech and is not intended to be used for the purposes of advertising and/or as a public forum by an individual, business, or group, nor as a mechanism for building exclusive support for a particular person, program or issue. Therefore, links to candidate forums, even if such forum, or the link thereto, has been organized and/or is sponsored by what may appear to be a non-partisan organization shall not be permitted on the Village website. Use of the Village website shall be authorized by the web coordinator and governed by the operating procedures as set forth herein. The Village website shall not be used by any person or group that seeks to foster, promote, or encourage disharmony based on race, ethnicity, or national origin or to otherwise seek to exploit differences among residents of the Village or among people in general.
E. The Village web coordinator reserves the right to review all website links, to determine its compliance with the Village website regulations and purpose, objectives, priorities, restrictions, and access in accordance with the provisions of this policy. Any website link under consideration may be accepted as presented, may be rejected, or may be given conditional approval by the web coordinator. Conditional approval of a website link shall mean that such website link may be posted on the Village website on the condition that any and all inappropriate, objectionable or offensive portions of said website link, based upon local community standards, are removed before posting. The presenter of the proposed website link will then have the option of making all specified changes or withdrawing the proposed website link from consideration. (Ord. 2017-O-16, 9-5-2017)