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HomeMy WebLinkAbout05-26-2020 Council Work Session PacketCouncil Work Session Tuesday, May 26, 2020 5:00 P.M. Orono Council Chambers, 2780 Kelley Parkway, Orono, MN 55356 Orono City Council Work Sessions are Open to the Public The Orono Council Work Session is open to the public. The Council Chambers in open for the Public Meetings. Participate in-person or electronically. To participate in this Work Session electronically please follow the instructions below: Please register to participate in the May 26, 2020 Orono City Council Work Session. The Work Session begins at 5:00 P.M. at: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/6915675657788262157 After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar. Brought to you by GoToWebinar® Webinars Made Easy® Meeting Participation Instructions for Applicants and the Public can be found at: https:// www.ci.orono.mn.us/DocumentCenter/View/2255/Instructions-for-Orono-Public- Meetings- Held-Electronically WORK SESSION AGENDA 1.Communications Council Work Session Tuesday, May 26, 2020 5:00 P.M. Orono Council Chambers, 2780 Kelley Parkway, Orono, MN 55356 Orono City Council Work Sessions are Open to the Public Past Meeting Agendas May 11, 2020 • 2021 Streets Plan • Summer Hours Discussion April 27, 2020 • Insurance Committee Update • 2021 Streets Plan April 13, 2020 • COVID -19 Update • Staffing Discussion Annual Discussions Timeframe: • Budget: Part of June, All of July, August and October. • City Administrator & Police Chief Update (3 times per year for 15 minutes) CITY OF ORONO MEMORANDUM DATE: May 26, 2020 TO: Mayor and City Council FROM: Dustin Rief, City Administrator RE: Communications Plan Update Backgound: In the Month of April it was identified that a major communication failure happened impacting citizens. Staff has reviewed the communications process and circumstances related to this specific incident as well as city wide communications as a whole. This review identified a number of areas of the process that were weak and could be improved upon. The process is below: Past Process Departments develop and provide content and are responsible for the timing of publication, this is then sent via email to various staff in the Administration department to send the publication out or post on social media. The process was not clearly defined and responsibility fell on the department but no one was assigned responsibility.  Weaknesses: The process had no built in redundancy, it was not formal and no one was assigned responsibility. How are the communications being received by the public? Current and past practice of the communications utilize email list service, Facebook, newsletters, direct letters, door hangars, in person, phone calls, individual email and word of mouth to provide the information.  Weaknesses: the city email list is limited to only the people who sign up (about 100), Facebook is limited to the people who follow and see the post based on algorithms, and newsletters are slow and costly. Direct letters and door hangars use a large amount of staff time but are the most effective when communicating to a small group. Individual communications through meetings, phone calls or emails are limited to the audience as addressed. How does the city receive communications from residents/clients? The city receives communications from residents/clients through email, letters, applications/permits, by phone and in person. These communications are typically specific and tend to address requests of city services or areas of concern within the community.  Weaknesses: The communications are very specific and only collect information related to the request. Revised Process In reviewing the previous process and how each of the above areas could be improved staff has is revising the process as follows: Departments develop the communications needed and submit it through an online communications form. This form will be sent to the administration department staff. The form is received through the new communications@ci.orono.mn.us email. A calendar has been created as well to establish deadlines, publication dates and follow ups. The form formalizes all requests and establishes a process that involves the entire Administration Department. The email is processed by the administration staff with the Management Assistant handling the requests followed by the City Clerk, Municipal Services Support Representative, and City Administrator. Each department will also be establishing a communications point of contact with a backup for redundancy. Tools Social media:  Facebook – promotions can be used more to communicate, all links can be posted here Facebook is a website which allows users, who sign-up for free profiles, to connect with friends, work colleagues or people they don't know, online. It allows users to share pictures, music, videos, and articles, as well as their own thoughts and opinions with however many people they like.  Twitter – What type of content do we want posted here. This is a microblogging system that allows you to send and receive short posts called tweets. Tweets can be up to 140 characters long and can include links to relevant websites and resources. Twitter users follow other users. If you follow someone you can see their tweets in your twitter 'timeline'  Instagram - Instagram is a social media app that allows users to share photos and videos from their lives, add captions, edit filters, tweak settings, engage with others, explore and creep, and more.  Nextdoor - Our purpose is to cultivate a kinder world where everyone has a neighborhood they can rely on. Our mission is to be the neighborhood hub for trusted connections and the exchange of helpful information, goods, and services. We want all neighbors to feel welcome, safe, and respected when using Nextdoor.  Hootsuite – Social media management for content. Includes scheduling, managing and reporting social media content. Paper:  Newspaper – Used for Notices, advertisements & Job postings  Newsletter – Quarterly (3 times per year) April-June; July-October; November-December – Department Heads submit Articles to communicate to the public. Used to feature parks, mayor letter, council member information, and other happenings.  Postcards – Used for notices, public hearings, updates for bills and other happenings or events  Handouts, Inserts & Flyers – Used in the front office & utility bills for notifying visitors of events and other happenings Website:  CivicPlus – Used for everything related to Orono (All content from this site can be shared via social media.  Newsflash – Subscription based, both carousels are on the home page  NotifyMe – Subscription based listserv, can be selective if desired  Electronic Newsletter – This may be added if we have enough content. Telephone:  Word of Mouth – Communicating & Advertising through conversation Internal Process for collecting & distributing communications:  Meetings – Communications is requested at every meeting.  CivicPlus Communications form – It will be a standard practice to formally submit request via the CivicPlus Communications form. Once the form is received the request will be added to the communications calendar. If additional information needs to be added please send it via email to communications@ci.orono.mn.us. Any additional information for the communication request must be submitted via email at least 48 hours prior to the expected publish date noted in the timeline on the original request form.  Meeting/Department Liaisons: (Department Heads and liaison) Public Works: PW Support/UB Specialist Community Development: Planning Assistant Management Team: Clerk Council Meetings: City Administrator and Department Head Finance: Accountant Police Department: Chief Administration: Clerk/Management Assistant  Communications Email – The subject for the email should be the Subject Heading used in the Communications form. The Communications department will add/remove any avenues for distribution as necessary. If changes are needed please explain expectations for the change needed in full detail.  Communications Calendar – Established for scheduling communications Process: Once a request is received, the MA will add to the calendar, Clerk will double check it has been added. The MA will send out a reminder to the department head three days prior if content has not yet been submitted via CivicPlus Communications Form.  Social Media Software – Calendar items will be added/updated/modified in coordination with Calendar if this option is used.  Content – Can be broad or specific, a basic outline explaining the message, files, images, etc. should be provided with the CivicPlus Communications Form. If there is a strong preference for placement of the communication please indicate on the form.  Frequency – This will be established on the CivicPlus Form. We will have an option for the requester to select the frequency of their communication. We may opt to repost more than requested. Bi-Weekly Administrative Meeting: Staff – CA, Clerk, MA, MSSR, & PWUBS  Discussion will include ongoing, current and upcoming communications. Updates will be given as to status of those communications.  Calendar will be discussed and reviewed for changes needed.  If we have a social media software program to assist it will be updated and reviewed during meeting.  Other Administrative department discussion will still take place at these meetings. Monthly  Communications planning will take place at the leadership team meeting immediately following the Utility Billing mailings. To improve on communications in conjunction with moving to a monthly utility bill, a transition to paper bills is also being reviewed as an avenue to place a flyer in each bill that will provide information on general services and upcoming projects and events in a more timely and frequent way. Further analysis is being conducted to understand costs related to adding this capability potentially including a reduction of the number of newsletters or the size of the newsletter. Summary Overall, a formalized process will bridge the gaps seen previously on some communications and place responsibility on certain employees. This will further add to our capabilities and streamline our somewhat clunky process and improve direct resident communication.