What you need to know about where you live is getting easier to find. As more and more towns are turning to Facebook and Twitter to get news out to residents.
A picture showing the breakdown of your tax bill, updates on the town budget and what to do over winter recess. Those are just some of the recent posts on the Town of Salina Facebook page. It's also on Twitter.
"If I happen to see something that pertains to the town I post a link on there and anything that the public needs to know in terms of garbage pick up or roads," said Mark Nicotra.
And with just a few clicks that information is out instantly. Many local governments are now tapping into social media sites and recruiting residents to follow them. About 250 people like Salina's page.
In Geddes, Supervisor Manny Falcone updates the town Facebook page about a town-wide vote coming up at the end of the month.
He says it also opens the door to easy communication and fast feedback from the public "People email me, they message me, some of the constituents chat on there. I like it, it's easy. I'm on it all the time so we can communicate back and forth, if people have problems they can send it over. We check it all the time," said Falcone.
Nicotra says it helps foster interaction with the people in Salina. "We would certainly like more of that. It also adds to transparency in government and getting all kinds of information out there that maybe they wouldn't normally see," said Nicotra.
Syracuse is also on Facebook, and so is the City's police department. As are many Central New York towns and villages.
It also doesn't cost anything to post on Facebook and Twitter, so for many towns it’s a way to spread information for free at a time when budgets are tight.
