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<br /> <br /> CITY OF ORONO MEMORANDUM <br /> <br />DATE: May 26, 2020 <br />TO: Mayor and City Council <br />FROM: Dustin Rief, City Administrator <br />RE: Communications Plan Update <br /> <br />Backgound: <br />In the Month of April it was identified that a major communication failure happened impacting citizens. <br />Staff has reviewed the communications process and circumstances related to this specific incident as <br />well as city wide communications as a whole. This review identified a number of areas of the process <br />that were weak and could be improved upon. The process is below: <br />Past Process <br />Departments develop and provide content and are responsible for the timing of publication, this is then <br />sent via email to various staff in the Administration department to send the publication out or post on <br />social media. The process was not clearly defined and responsibility fell on the department but no one <br />was assigned responsibility. <br /> Weaknesses: The process had no built in redundancy, it was not formal and no one was <br />assigned responsibility. <br />How are the communications being received by the public? <br />Current and past practice of the communications utilize email list service, Facebook, newsletters, direct <br />letters, door hangars, in person, phone calls, individual email and word of mouth to provide the <br />information. <br /> Weaknesses: the city email list is limited to only the people who sign up (about 100), <br />Facebook is limited to the people who follow and see the post based on algorithms, and <br />newsletters are slow and costly. Direct letters and door hangars use a large amount of staff <br />time but are the most effective when communicating to a small group. Individual <br />communications through meetings, phone calls or emails are limited to the audience as <br />addressed. <br />How does the city receive communications from residents/clients? <br />The city receives communications from residents/clients through email, letters, applications/permits, by <br />phone and in person. These communications are typically specific and tend to address requests of city <br />services or areas of concern within the community.