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Home My WebLink About1998-0722 PUBLIC INFO PLANCity Council Communication July 22, 1998 (Study Session) Submitted by: Approved by: Approved by: Dick Wanderscheid(~ Paul Nolte ~-,"/~ Mike Freeman Title: DRAFT Public Information, Communication & Marketing Plan Synopsis: The purpose o£ this draft plan is to initiate a discussion with the Mayor and City Council on a comprehensive Public Information, Communication & Marketing Plan. Recommendation: Informal presentation only, Council input and discussion is desired. Background Information: With the creation of the Administrative Services Department with public information, communication and marketing responsibilities, we are proposing an initial draft plan to begin discussions with the Mayor and Council to help define a scope o£work on which we can begin. DRAFT PUBLIC INFORMATION, COMMUNICATION & MARKETING PLAN BACKGROU N P In 1995, one of the City Council goals was "To improve communication to and from the City of Ashland and its citizens." Subsequently, the Mayor appointed an Ad Hoc Citizens Communication Committee to help develop a plan to achieve this goal. This committee began meeting in late 1995 and its plan was submitted to and adopted by the City Council in late 1996. With the creation of the Administrative Service Department with public information, communication and marketing responsibilities, coupled with the addition of a new Marketing & Communication Manager, staff is proposing an initial view of areas that should be included in the City's communication plan. Some items are relatively simple and inexpensive to implement while others are more complex and have more significant budget impacts. The hope is to use this draft plan as a starting point to discuss these items with the Mayor and Council in order to get feedback and possibly some prioritization of the items so a final plan can be agreed upon and implementation can begin. PURPOSE The purpose of this draft plan is to support City Council and all city departments in effectively communicating with residents, businesses and public agencies to facilitate increased understanding of and support for city programs, projects, services, policies and issues. Existing communication methods will be maintained, monitored and improved upon, and new methods will be developed and implemented. M^JoR GO^LS 1. To work with the City Council to develop an overall Communication Strategic Plan for the City. The plan will explore opportunities to improve existing internal and external communications. Specific examples of ideas to implement this goal may include. a. External communication activities - by department: i. General (all departments) a. Provide support for all city departments to help them with development of media, publications, advertising, marketing, public education and informational materials. Facilitate internal training needs to management for media relations, public information and public participation skills. c. Develop a common look or "template" for city documents and publications. 2. Public Works ao Help Public Works develop a water quality report for the city's water utility which will comply with the Federal Safe Drinking Water Act, and more importantly, will educate citizens of the care and effort taken by the city to provide citizens with very high quality water. bo Help with the public participation process for both the waste water treatment plant upgrade and the comprehensive water study. Help to continue to foster the positive relationship between the city and the Ashland Watershed Partnership on environmental and Public Works related activities. d. Help to promote a watershed education project. 3. Electric/Telecom Utilities Help develop an Electric Utility Strategic Marketing Plan to help position the city's electric utility to not only survive but thrive in a deregulated utility market. Help develop a Telecom Utility Strategic Marketing Plan to assist in marketing new telecommunication services to Ashland's citizens and businesses (assumes Council adoption of AFN Plan). Help the city's electric and telecom utilities bundle and brand its products into an effective overall marketing approach. 4. Public Safety ao Help the city's Police Department publicize, promote and successfully implement its citizen's academy. Help to produce informational materials and/or videos for the Police Department on an overview of the Ashland Police Department used for recruiting and public information, on the DARE program and about public safety for SOU foreign students. c. Help Ashland Fire & Rescue market its Fire Mee/Program. Help to produce informational material and/or a video for the City's Fire Department on an overview of the Fire Department, including fire and ambulance operations and emergency management training and code enforcement. 5. Finance Help to develop a citizen friendly short booklet that briefly explains the city budget process, where funding comes from, and how money is spent by the city government. Help to develop informational material on the local improvement district (LID) process, how it works, how they are formed and paid for, etc. Help to develop informational materials on system development charges (SDCs), how they are set, paid for and how they are limited by state law, etc. 6. Community Development Help to decide and implement the best way to publicize and involve the community in the Planning Commission/Department's revision to the riparian sections of the city's land use ordinances. Help to develop informational materials and/or videos on the building process, planning process, code enforcement and street standards. B. Internal Communication Meet with employees on a regular basis to promote internal communications, both to and from employees, about city issues and activities. Enhance the city's internal newsletter by improving its look, content, schedule and employee participation. Provide a centralized point of contact and coordination for the many activities conducted by the city. This will allow a better overall practice of our efforts and make sure conflicting information is not being provided by different city departments. Provide training to City staff in the area of conducting and facilitating effective public meetings. Provide timely information to the public and enhance opportunities for public input on city activities. Some specific ideas in this area may include: Implement a high quality monthly city newsletter that will be delivered to all Ashland citizens and businesses. (See attached examples.) Work with SOU, the Ashland Chamber of Commerce and other appropriate entities to sponsor public forums on city issues that warrant a high level of public awareness and input. C. Improve the look and functionality of the city's web pages. Implement CIVIC call or similar software to track and follow citizen input and complaints about city services and activities. (See attached brochure.) E. Conduct annual citizen attitude surveys to help gauge the effectiveness of city services Ill. and offerings and measure attitudes about city government, Enhance and coordinate the city's utility bill inserts to improve information flow to citizens and also to provide a longer term planning process for information that is included. Continue to strengthen and enhance our relationship with RVTV and utilize its state of the art facilities to create opportunities and projects to deliver information to Ashland citizens. To enhance and improve community and media relations. Some specific areas that might be addressed are: Designate a liaison to be the city's main contact point with SOU, the Ashland Chamber of Commerce, the Ashland School District, the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, and the U.S. Forest Sewice to coordinate items of mutual interest and of interest to the public. Work to establish a civic journalism partnership with SOU, and possibly the League of Women Voters and local media, to provide real world opportunities for journalism students and also gain a valuable method of explaining complex city related issues to citizens. Arrange a media tour with all Rogue Valley media to introduce city staff to media staff, improve the working relationship and establish contact points for future media related items. nee V,.~ham ( uu~.~ ~.r~~ ~~~',~, William Counh · (tVi( AIt :~" at Prince'vVi!t~an ~'~.?' , .".'k ,',,i ' ..~ h ;,,, i ....]ou~W. ·" qt .'~4i ~unty · CIVICAll ~": .~t i~*iru ;. Wilti;x,.~ Cotud}, ~ (lVIdAi [;~' .it P~uxe William Cuuaty · ( !VI(]M ~i ~:;~',~ .'.'i!~hu,; (~u~q',' · ~]VI( Ai.I :~' ,q Vri~u u VICALL"~ al Prux:r. Vvilium~ Crxmt?' ~ CIVICALl u,~ a~ Princu 'vViliiam [ounW * CIVICAlL~ al Pri~x ~ . ,:h.u~: (,u..~:i¥ · CtVICAH ;~" al Prince '¥~4!imn ('ou~u'. , u~ce William Cou~?.~., '. IV'l( &il ~ at Prince Willian~ (_ou~h · (]h iCALL ;~.' ,1! P~im.e Witham (]ux.' ·: ix if .,'~t i :' al PSiw ~. Wlh~m~: ~ (lutli? · ~ ?~i.. All '. ~unty ~ CIVtCAI2 '" .;! P~i;w, Willinn', County , CtVICALL~:'~ at Prince Wi~iiam C(~unly ~ ('IVI(-Ai q i~,,';,' . "A':~ Lu: t]r',ur~;~. · t iVtCAi_l '::u! hux:~. 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Tile next was better but still too rigid. We knew what we needed--we'd learned tile hard way-so we started the extensive search that led to our bringing ill CIVICALL'"." Lawrence Hughes PRINCE WILLIAM, VIRGINIA--The contemporary red- brick McCaart Administration Building--which anchors County Complex Court off the new cross-county Prince William Parkway--welcomes a steady flow of visitors throughout business hours and beyond. It is a hub of ac- tivity, housing the County Executive and County Attorney's offices, the Board of County Supervisors cham- bers, the Board Chairman's office, and the administrative offices of many county agencies. During evening hours, its conference rooms host numerous civic meetings. Significantly, the building is named not for a profes- sional government administrator, but for James J. McCaart, a onetime civic activist. His contributions to the community went far beyond his county government service. He was a teacher, a coach, and a concerned citi- zen who served Prince William County both before and after his stint as one of its Supervisors. The county has a long tradition of such citizen participation and continues to value it. This is evident today in the Citizens' time scheduled at the beginning of each Board of County Supervisors' meeting. Another example is the county government's recent establishment of a twelve-week Community Lead- ership Institute. Its graduates gain in-depth knowledge of the county government as well as skills they can use to serve neighborhood groups, community organizations, and county boards and commissions. There are sixty of the latter, for which more than five-hundred citizens vol- unteer their time. It is obvious, then, that tracking and responding to citizen inquiries, requests, and complaints in such a civic- minded jurisdiction must be a massive undertaking. It is an endeavor that demands top-of-the-line technology, specifically geared to the needs of a local government. For the last ten years, the County Executive's office has ~_ ..... been striving to meet this ever- more-critical requirement. ~Our first tracking system was difficult to get into and to navigate," declares Lawrence /' Hughes, Deputy County Execu- tive. "The next was better but still too rigid. We knew what we needed--we'd learned the hard way--so we started the exten- sive search that led to our bring- ing in CIVICALL'." Opportunity in Change After a former County Executive attended a CIVICALL presentation, which had been held at an Innovation Groups seminar, Prince William County contacted The Orcutt Group of Potomac, Maryland, developer of the Windows®-based product. It appeared that CIVICALL might be the one system adaptable enough to field the curveballs that an innovative government might throw as it copes with serving a burgeoning population. "We had the policies in place, and we knew what we wanted. All we needed was the right tool," explains Nancy Copeland, Administrative Assistant to the County Executive. A veteran of more than seven years in the county administration, having started out in what is now the Technology, Facilities, and Support Services office, Copeland serves as the unofficial system administrator for CIVICALL. "1 have become one of CIVICALL's biggest fans and have recommended it to many other cities and counties across the country. Any one of them can use it. It can work for the smallest department to the largest organi- zation." [The County Executive under whose supervision CIVICALL was acquired has moved on; he has not seen firsthand how the system has expanded and flourished here in Virginia. However, in his new position as a City Manager in Colorado, he has'once again brought in the product.] Meanwhile, Prince William's new County Executive, already aware of CIVICALL's capabilities, has asked that its use be extended into all county departments at every level. He wants to capture all the available citizen re- sponse data, being especially interested in providing topnotch service to the constituents and in spotting trends. Having been tasked with " .~ accelerating efforts to make the ~:~ ~ county attractive to new busi- ........... : . nesses-- transforming it from a I~.~,~iL'-~ ~ bedroom community to an em- ployment center--he is emphasiz- ii~7..~7~ ing "the need for an organized, --,. '-,..~.~ .........._-.clear vision for Prince William's fu- ~ "~ ture built on shared values of the ~ '~i~,..~O~,~ ~ entire community." "~' ~'~i: ?:~/=~-~ "in the last few months, our in- .... '<' I formation needs have doubled," ~'~:';~' -~'~ says Copeland. "This is a big Nancy Copeland county with a lot going on, and Teva Murdock as a newcomer, the County Executive needs a lot of in- formation to get up to speed. In addition, he has a fresh eye and a dedication to detail." She continues, "Also, others in the administration have been provid- ing him with reports on how they've handled things in their bailiwicks. CIVICALL maintains a running history for each tracker, and we can use the system's superb search capability to extract the needed facts." Prince William has developed its own CIVICALL terminology. What the documenta- tion describes with the misnomer complaint, Copeland generically refers to as a tracker. It can be a complaint, an inquiry, a request, or any other entry which requires tracking and response. "1 like to think that we employ CIVICALL in creative ways. We've extended its use to the support of Supervisor directives and special proiects, and we use it to track all the correspondence coming into our office, from whatever source. Yet, I estimate we're doing all this in three-quarters of the time we used to spend in pre-CIVICALL days." Lawrence Hughes much less paper-shuffling, and I've been able to grow with the system, learning new skills and incorporating new ideas." "We have thirty-two departments located in four buildings, some of them twenty miles apart," Copeland points out. "Because governments are notorious for lov- ing paper, we used to have to hardcopy everyone on everything, sometimes even creating the same informa- tion twice. However, we are networked big-time, and with CIVICALL, we can all 'read from the same page' and communicate via our own E-Mail or the system's ClVl- MAIL. Referrals for departmental action are automatic, and the system is set up to send automatic notification to two levels of support." According to Hughes, "CIVlCALL's report-writing ca- pability and its capacity for integrating added informa- tion allow us to facilitate the implementation of direc- tives from the Board, research and respond to citizen re- quests, and track any correspondence that comes into this office. We consider it a project-tracker." He contin- ues, "We use the results on a day-to-day basis, and we've set up turnaround times of from ten days to two weeks, depending on the priority of the project. Weekly, we review staff performance against expecta- tions. And if we don't meet deadlines, we know why." "To date, we use only text reports to the Board and the department heads, but we'll move on to CIVICALL's graphic facil- ity later," says Copeland. "We're only in the early stages of use, so we've been try- ing to stay with familiar formats. Actually, from the perspective of those who see the reports, I suppose there has been little change. But I can tell you that behind the scenes, the improvement has been tremendous!" "I have become one of CIVICALL's biggest fans and have recommended it to many other cilies and counties across the country. Any one of them can use it." Nancy Copeland Power in Versatility "1 had been here only a short time, working half-days, when we brought in CIVICALL," notes Teva Murdock. A secretary in the County Fxecutive's office, she is referred to as "the heart of the system" by Copeland. "1 was in on the ground floor, and the transition went smoothly," Murdock continues. "With CIVICALL, we've been able to adopt much more efficient and time-saving methods of creating and distributing information. I'm faced with Learning by Doing "One of the great things about CIVICALL--it's so adapt- able. And the Orcutt people are so responsive to my con- cerns. They hold my hand. They incorporate my sugges- tions. They really listen to me." Copeland goes on to de- scribe the system's workflow, Prince William style. "We have no call center as such. Constituents con- tact the appropriate Supervisor--there are seven rep- resenting election districts and a chairman, who's at- "Witll CIVICALL, we've been able to adopt much more efficient and time. saving methods of creating and distributing infornlation. I'm faced with much less l)aper- shuffling, and I've been able to grow with the system, learning new skills and incorporating new ideas." Teva Murdock large. They relay that information to our office, as well as information about any specific actions the Board directs be taken, and Teva organizes it for my input into CIVICALL. She does the same for correspondence we receive." "1 can hardly wait for the CIVICALL imaging inter- face, which I understand is a top priority," says Murdock. "Then, I'll be able to scan paper documents into the computer, substantially reducing the time I spend photocopying and doing data entry. I'll have more time to work with Nancy to perfect our proce- dures and to train people to use them." At the outset, The Orcutt Group held successful training sessions for all the departments who would be using CIVICALL, about half of the roster. "CIVICALL is easy to use," Murdock declares, "and our only concern has been with the staff members who don't use the sys- tem regularly. So, I'm developing a booklet of remind- ers and usage tips as a desktop aid. I'm trying to think of all the possible scenarios and lead people through the steps involved in handling them." Of course, some departments, such as Public Works, use CIVICALL virtually every day. The Planning, Finance, and Police Departments are also heavy users. And, lately, Economic Development has stepped up its pace--and, if the new administration is successful in its push to bring new business into Prince William County, that de- partment will become a primary user. Perception versus Reality The county spans about 350 square miles, running from the Appalachian foothills to the shores of the Potomac. Within its boundaries, there are four incorporated towns, two independent cities, plus many less-clearly defined communities, including Virginia's top tourist destination, Potomac Mills. In the past few years, resi- dential--not business-construction has accounted for more than 90% of all development, and this influx of residents has put new financial pressure on the county. Simply put, the growing demand for new schools, better roads, and increased services requires that the county acquire a firm base of mature businesses whose employees and taxes can contribute to the county's eco- nomic health. For that reason, it is accelerating its devel- opment effort, but it finds itself in a Catch 22 situation. The very issues that necessitate an infusion of new busi- ness blood are the ones that make the county appear undesirable to new or relocating businesses. To combat this perception, the county must com- municate a clear image of itself as a community whose quality of life matches, and even surpasses, that of any neighboring county. Residents are already aware of this fact. According to a recent Washington Post survey, 95% of them rate the county as a good or excellent place to live. Now, Prince William must not only get the good news out to non-residents, but also maintain and rein- force the favorable assessment by its own citizens. CIVICALL can help. By extending its use as a citizen response system to every department that receives citizen calls, the administration can take advantage of the information the system provides and the reports it generates-as well as the measures it provides for en- suring citizen satisfaction--to support its public rela- tions initiative. "As it now stands, CIVICALL is used only by depart- ments that get requests from the Board or our office. But what about Human Relations? Or Social Services? With 260,000 residents, you know every department must be getting citizen calls. And the County Executive realizes that we need to capture that data," says Copeland. "How many people are calling? Where are they calling from? What kinds of requests are they making? And are we responding to them promptly and effectively?" Proof in the Eating "1 foresee no real problems in bringing all of our depart- ments onto the system. Even the most non-technical person around can learn to use CIVICALL quickly. It doesn't matter whether you're a keyboard person or a mouse-user like me. It doesn't matter whether you pre- fer to click on icons or on words. All it requires is that you follow directions--and that you have an open mind and don't resist change. "CIVICALL gives you choices down the line. You can extract information every which way--by title, by department, by timeframe, and by our personal favor- ite, the keyword." Copeland's enthusiasm for CIVICALL is apparent as she adds, "You know what they say about the proof of the pudding. Well, the same can be said about CIVICALL. You really have to use it to appreciate it." C CAI,I, lBy~e{ People. . .For the People For information, call (703)255-6610. CIVICALL is a trademark of The Orcutt Group, Inc, Windows is the registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation. The Orcutt Group, Inc. 7939 Inverness Ridge Road Potomac, Maryland 20854 City of Ashland, OR Memo Honorable Mayor and City Council Mike Freeman, City Administrator 07/15/98 Getting Around Ashland Attached you will find a brochure developed by the City's public information operation. Over the past several months, many Ashland residents and business owners have contacted me regarding their perception of parking in Ashland. In analy-zJng the Issue further, it is my belief that more information provided to our out-of-town guests is needed. There is a perception from visitore out of town that plaza parking is the only available parldng in the immediate downtown and they become frustrated when parking is not readily available. In reality, there is quite a bit of parking available in public lots and side streets, but these are not always immediately evident to visitors to the community. The attached brochure takes a small step in beginning to take a more active role in managing availaUe parking in Ashland. The idea for this brochure comes from the Ashland Downtown Plan adopted well over a decade ago. Dick Wandemheid, Administrative Services Director and Northem Connections are responsible for this effort. The City is currently in the process of distxibuting copies of this brochure to the information booth on the plaza, the Chamber, all hotels/motels/B+B's, City parking enforcement staff and others. it is the intent of the staff to publish this brochure annually and to refine and improve on a continuous basis. · Page I