The Warren County Board of Supervisors meeting on April 1, 2025, touched on a critical modern issue: How does the First Amendment apply to a government’s Facebook or Twitter page? While the meeting started with routine agenda items, it quickly moved into a serious discussion about transparency and the manipulation of public records.
Social Media: A Digital Public Square
I brought to the Board’s attention a series of troubling actions involving new social media accounts created for a public body under their control. Citizens—myself included—observed a pattern of behavior that undermines public trust:
- Deleting Criticism: Comments criticizing the board were deleted, and eventually, the ability for any citizen to comment was turned off entirely.
- Blocking Citizens: Several residents were blocked from even viewing these public pages, effectively being exiled from a digital public forum.
- Manipulated Records: Most concerning was a 28-minute video posted online that lacked 15 minutes of critical context. Oddly, the video begins with a claim of “transparency” while omitting the very portion of the meeting that provided context for the events discussed.
I reminded the Board that when a government entity opens a social media page for public comment, it becomes a “designated public forum.” Deleting critical voices is not just poor policy; it is a violation of the First Amendment.
Cleaning Up the Comprehensive Plan
Later in the evening, we discussed the County’s Comprehensive Plan. I noted that page 146 contained a specific paragraph detailing the financial funding and statistics for Samuels Public Library from two years prior.
My argument was simple: Consistency. No other nonprofit supported by the County had their specific financial “price tag” or statistics listed in this long-term planning document. Furthermore:
- The data was already outdated.
- The Library already provides detailed, separate presentations to the Board.
- All financial records, audits, and budgets are already publicly available on the Library’s website and in County fiscal reports.
I was pleased to see Vicky Cook confirm that, at the request of the supervisors, this specific paragraph was removed. The Library is now listed alongside other nonprofits without the inconsistent financial spotlight.
The Details Matter: From Hangars to Fiscal Policy
Even in the smaller items, I found room for improvement. I noted that several Airport Hangar Lease Agreements lacked witness signatures or had illegible serial numbers. It might seem like “nitpicking,” but clarity in public contracts prevents legal headaches down the road. I was also encouraged to see the Board remove an item regarding Fire & Rescue fiscal policy, showing that public concerns sent via email are indeed being heard.
Watch the Testimony
Track the various topics I addressed using the timestamps below:
- 0:34 – Addressing Social Media Censorship and Blocked Citizens
- 2:11 – The Issue of Manipulated Public Video Records
- 2:41 – Identifying Missing Signatures on Airport Hangar Leases
- 4:32 – My Comments on the Comprehensive Plan & Library Statistics
Transcript (auto-generated)
Chapter 1: Public Comment
0:00Hello, my name is Lewis Motton. I’d like to thank the pastor for the Lord’s Prayer. Um, so I’ll address the adoption
0:09
9 secondsof the agenda first. U, thank you for removing item six. I don’t know if that’s in relation to my email, but it makes me
Chapter 2: Fire Dept Fiscal Policy
0:18
18 secondsfeel like my voice is actually being heard with some of the concerns I have with the treatment of administrative
0:25
25 secondsissues with our fire departments. Um, so I don’t know if uh you guys can add
0:32
32 secondssomething to the consent agenda, but I do want to bring up an issue that I’ve been having for over a month now. Um, so
Chapter 3: Additions – Social Media Policy / Accounts
0:42
42 secondsI did get an apology about it, but uh, apparently I don’t know what our social media policy is in regards to the government here of the county of Warren.
0:54
54 secondsUm there are new social media accounts that were created for public body.
0:59
59 secondsUm there was no business discussing the creation of these accounts.
1:05
1 minute, 5 secondsUm and I’ve been to all all these public meetings and some of the closed meetings as well for the public portion of them.
1:13
1 minute, 13 secondsThe um from what I’ve seen and heard uh Warren County citizens left comments.
Chapter 4: Criticizing comments removed
1:21
1 minute, 21 secondsSome were crit criticizing the the board that these were associated with. Those comments have since been deleted. All comments have been deleted.
Chapter 5: Citizens blocked
1:32
1 minute, 32 secondsAnd uh some of these citizens of Warren County have been blocked from even viewing these accounts for the public
1:39
1 minute, 39 secondsbody of Warren County that that they’re representing. These accounts are not linked from that public body to to those social media accounts.
Chapter 6: Commenting turned off / 1A right
1:49
1 minute, 49 secondsUm, at this point, nobody, no citizen can comment on this public forum any longer. And I feel that that is a first
1:56
1 minute, 56 secondsamendment right that we have. Uh, nobody can voice their opinion.
2:04
2 minutes, 4 secondsUm, you know, ratings have been removed from it as well. I could I could care less about that. Um, but there’s also been a record that has been posted
Chapter 7: Manipulated Public Record
2:13
2 minutes, 13 secondsonline that has been manipulated. It is only a 28 minute long video and oddly enough it begins talking about how this
2:22
2 minutes, 22 secondspublic body prides itself on transparency yet it lacks 15 minutes that were critical
2:29
2 minutes, 29 secondsleading up to some context of what happened at that meeting specifically to me.
2:36
2 minutes, 36 secondsUm that’s pretty much what I have to say about that. Um, I did review some of the hangar applications and saw some are
Chapter 8: Airport Hanger Lease Agreements B13, A8, and C2
2:44
2 minutes, 44 secondswithout witness signatures. I don’t know if that’s a big deal, but uh, some of them I could not discern the aircraft serial numbers. So, you might want to
2:53
2 minutes, 53 secondslook at that just to make some corrections for clarity. Um, and that is my comment. Thank you.
3:00
3 minutesI I just just want to remind you all that uh that this period is for uh items that are on the agenda. Mhm.
3:10
3 minutes, 10 secondsfor for comments. So, you know, and of the uh so just want to remind you all of that.
3:19
3 minutes, 19 secondsThank you. That’s what I had.
Chapter 9: Comprehensive Plan – Vicky Cook
3:22
3 minutes, 22 secondsUnder the new section of nonprofit organizations, it’s on page 146 of the comp plan. We
3:29
3 minutes, 29 secondshave a paragraph in there saying Samuels Public Library receives a million. You know, we all know how much it is for
3:36
3 minutes, 36 secondsWarren County, for fisc year 23 and so forth. My question is is why do we have
3:44
3 minutes, 44 secondsuh financial data in a comprehensive plan and yet we have listed all these
3:52
3 minutes, 52 secondsnonprofit organizations that also get financial support from Warren County.
3:59
3 minutes, 59 secondsCorrect. So we did at the request of supervisors remove that and added Samuels Public Library to the list of nonprofits. Um it was in the 2013 plan.
4:09
4 minutes, 9 secondsSo we had originally just intended to keep it as it was already there. It wasn’t one particular item that was up for review until we had met with you all
4:17
4 minutes, 17 secondsindividually. So that was removed in the amended comprehensive plan. That paragraph is no longer there.
4:24
4 minutes, 24 secondsSamuels Public Library has has been listed with all the other nonprofits. Okay. to what I’m seeing here will not be there. Okay. Yeah.
Chapter 10: Comprehensive Plan Comment
4:32
4 minutes, 32 secondsYeah. I’ll speak. Uh Lewis B from North River.
4:35
4 minutes, 35 secondsI I agree that finances should be removed as it was only one place that
4:42
4 minutes, 42 secondswas referencing it and it was already outdated from a year ago. Um so that’s pretty much my comment. So thank you.
