A number of councillors have now become embroiled in the written rammy.

Council leader Martin Rooney has become tangled in a war of words with councillors, George Black and Jim Bollan, which has become increasingly heated in the last few weeks.

It was sparked by the suspension of Councillors Black and Bollan by the Standards Commission The council leader then became involved in a heated debate on WDC’s Facebook page with a member of the public over an announcement over the value of the Scottish Pipe Championships to the area.

WDC had been branded “hypocritical” for boasting about the worth of the championships, staged at Levengrove and Posties Parks — its preferred location for the new Our Lady and St Patrick’s high school.

Building at Levengrove would have left the site unable to host future events.

Now one on-line media specialist, Dr Douglas Chalmers, has issued a cautionary note to the use of social media by those in a position of public responsibility.

The senior lecturer in Media and Journalism at Glasgow Caledonian University said social media — together with the local press — plays a crucial role in ensuring all sides of a debate are heard. He added: “Social media, such as Facebook and Twitter are here to stay, and can often allow local voices to be heard that would otherwise be silent. In general it is a good thing there is dialogue between local authority representatives and the public on social media, as well as in the local press — and indeed the council chambers, and community organisations.

“However, I would advise it is always best to focus on the principles of the case in hand and try to minimise a focus on the individuals.

“One weakness of social media is that it is easy to slip into personal invective, and officials should never forget that when we respond we will be seen as still representing our organisation or professional position, so it is important to keep professional standards to the fore.” WDC says they provide social media training to elected members, however, the last training event on social media was in November 2012. Council officers also direct councillors to elected member specific “external guidance” available online.

A spokesman for the council said: “Ultimately each councillor takes responsibility for their own actions and ensuring they adhere to the national Code of Conduct. To date we have only had one complaint from a member of the public regarding the social media activity of an elected member.

“There are only a handful of employees who undertake social media duties on behalf of the council and these individuals have the right level of experience and training to perform such duties responsibly. There is an agreed Social Media Policy to follow.” One councillor said they could see both the benefits and drawbacks of councillors engaging in online debates.

When approached for by the Reporter to dicuss his use of social media, Councillor Rooney said: “I’m focussing my energy on bringing jobs and investment to the area and improving the standard of living for our residents.” Councillor Jim Bollan said the public was exposing New Labour on social media “more and more”.

He added: “Councillor Rooney doesn’t get accountability and democracy, and he can’t understand why many people disagree with New Labour, which results in the very public confrontational and risible approach he displays on social media sites.” Councillor Black said the administration leader does “not communicate well.” He added: “He demonstrates this with remarks like, ‘we do not care where we build the school,’ with regards the OLSP education committee meeting in June.” What do you think? Do your councillors behave appropriately online? Do you see any of their behaviour as confrontational or a waste of effort? Let us know by Tweeting us @dumbartonreport or tagging us on Facebook.