COMMUNICATIONS
AND
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PLAN
July 2026
EXHIBIT A
Attachment 3
Communications and Community Engagement Plan
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
I. Overview……………………………………………………………………………………………Page 2
II. Background………………………………………………………………………………………..Page 2 III. Media Relations………………………………………………………………………………….Page 3 IV. Internal Communications……………………………………………………………………Page 4 V. External Communications…………………………………………………………………..Page 4 VI. Multicultural Engagement and Outreach…………………………………………….Page 4 VII. Tools and Resources……………………………………………………………………………Page 5
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I. OVERVIEW
The Communications and Community Engagement Plan describes the objectives, policies, and resources to improve and strengthen the City’s communication and engagement with our Mountain View community.
Our mission is to provide consistent, timely, and accurate internal and external communications and engagement opportunities while supporting the City’s strategic priorities. The plan outlines the delivery of effective, proactive communication and uses a range of communication and outreach methods to improve public and language access to information about the City of Mountain View and its services.
II. BACKGROUND
The Communications and Outreach Division leads the overall communication and multicultural community outreach efforts for the City of Mountain View. Led by the Chief Communications Officer, the team focuses on providing public information, community engagement, multicultural outreach, and transparency. The Communications and Outreach team will continue efforts to expand on and enhance communication and outreach mechanisms already in place.
In a matrix environment, the Communications and Outreach Division provides communications and outreach resources to support departments with developing news releases, promotional collateral, government access channel content, and web/print graphics; communications planning; media relations; multicultural outreach planning; social media strategy; video production; and web content management. As part of the City Manager’s Office, the division supports the City Manager and their designee with public and employee presentations and events.
The team strives to meet the following seven objectives as listed below.
Objectives:
1. Strengthen the City of Mountain View brand identity by delivering coordinated, consistent messaging that delivers on the pillars of the City’s brand and its reputation.
2. Enhance external communications, making sure that key messages and accurate information are shared, in a variety of formats, in a consistent, timely, cost-effective, and culturally appropriate manner.
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3. Support internal communications in collaboration with the Human Resources Department by providing information that is relevant to employees, reflective of the City values and culture, and enhances staff engagement.
4. Engage residents in the governmental process by soliciting input and feedback on City issues in the community, providing opportunities for involvement in local public decision making, and further building relationships with diverse community groups, local governments, civic and business organizations, residents, and stakeholder groups.
5. Manage media relations efforts, providing information proactively, cultivating relationships with television, print, online, and radio media, while improving coordination across City departments in the sharing of information with media partners, updating policies and procedures, and providing appropriate training for staff.
6. Drive the use of technology and digital media, including through visual storytelling, to further enhance community and stakeholder relationships and provide an additional way for the public to access City information.
7. Provide employee development and training opportunities by offering tools and resources that will strengthen internal communication among City departments and share best practices in communications and public outreach techniques for multicultural audiences.
The Communications and Outreach Division also provides guidance, coordination, and support to build staff capacity for effective communications and outreach to the community. The Division convenes and oversees the Communications Roundtable (CRT), which is made up of department representatives who are involved in communications within their respective departments. The division hosts bimonthly CRT meetings to update staff on communication best practices, provide training sessions; share tips, standard operating procedures, and policies; heighten awareness of upcoming events; and stay current on significant citywide and department-specific issues.
For assistance, email [email protected].
III. MEDIA RELATIONS
The Chief Communications Officer (CCO) serves as the primary spokesperson for the City of Mountain View, in addition to the City Manager and Mayor. The CCO supports and maintains a working relationship with the media. For additional details, view the Media Relations Administrative Instruction.
The Communications and Outreach Division’s responsibilities include:
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• Developing news releases and media advisories.
• Translating news releases into Spanish and Chinese, when applicable. • Maintaining a database of local media contacts, including ethnic media. • Providing news conferences.
• Overseeing content of online City Newsroom.
• Identifying and implementing platforms to enhance access by community members and other stakeholders to City news and information through technology.
IV. INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS
In coordination with the Human Resources Department, the Communications and Outreach Division supports internal communications to staff about new developments, initiatives, and City- hosted events through the City’s intranet (Inside MV), CMV Staff Brief e-newsletter, email, and employee events.
V. EXTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS
The Chief Communications Officer directs the Communications and Outreach team on best practices for disseminating information to the public, with an emphasis on transparency and language access when informing the public about City issues or events.
The City updates the community with timely, accurate, and helpful information through a variety of accessible formats, including the MountainView.gov website, email notification subscriptions, public noticing, local media, print publications, social media, video, Mountain View City Television, public meetings, and direct contact with constituents. City staff responds to public inquiries by phone, email, and through Ask MV, a customer relationship management platform for reporting issues.
VI. MULTICULTURAL ENGAGEMENT AND OUTREACH
The Communications and Outreach Division’s Multicultural Engagement Program (MEP) builds and maintains relationships within our culturally diverse city, including among the Hispanic/Latino and Chinese communities. The MEP team provides translation/interpretation services in Spanish and Chinese; conducts outreach at City and community events, along with schools and nonprofit organizations; and plans and coordinates the Spanish and Chinese language civic leadership academies.
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The City’s Language Access and Multicultural Community Engagement Administrative Instruction provides guidance for multilingual services and communication, including the criteria for establishing predominant languages.
For assistance with culturally appropriate outreach methods and language access, email [email protected].
VII. TOOLS AND RESOURCES
Ask MV
Mountain View offers Ask MV, a customer relationship management (CRM) platform for community members to engage through their desktop computer or an iPhone or Android smartphone, 24 hours a day/seven days a week, without needing to know the appropriate City department, division, or staff person.
With this CRM tool, residents can submit, track, and view nearby service requests. Users can snap a photo, add the location, and send requests directly to City staff. Once a request is submitted, it will be routed to the appropriate department. Through Ask MV, users will be notified of the status of their request and completion date. The Ask MV app offers services such as reporting graffiti, tree issues, code enforcement issues, and much more. Ask MV allows community members to extend the reach of staff in identifying issues and provides an efficient means of communication with the City.
City Banner Program
City programs can use banners to promote events. The City hangs street banners at two locations:
• El Camino Real and Rengstorff Avenue
• El Camino Real and Bay Street
Banners are managed by the Recreation Division. Banners need to display the event date, and the hanging window must be for the two weeks leading up to the event date. Forestry staff will put up and take down the banner.
The banner specifications are: 3 feet by 30 feet, with #3 grommets spaced 2 inches apart. Please contact the Recreation Division for more detailed specifications prior to going into production.
For more information and to reserve space, contact [email protected].
City Website
The City of Mountain View website, MountainView.gov, serves as a central source of City information where all collateral, information, news items, calendar of events, etc. will be posted
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and made available to the public. The website serves as an online gateway to the City organization.
It is an important tool for illustrating and supporting Mountain View’s identity.
Email Notification System
The City uses an email notification system, which is integrated with the MountainView.gov website platform and available as a digital communications platform for sending relevant, personalized messages to target audiences. City staff is able to share events, meetings, news announcements, and updates from the website to subscribers through the email notification system. In addition, City staff can use the platform to send e-newsletters and other relevant information. Members of the public and media representatives can subscribe to receive emails about the latest news, meetings, events, and job openings in the City of Mountain View.
Through the email notification system, over 70,792 subscribers are currently signed up to receive email updates on 136 subject topics. The average number of subscriptions per subscriber is three (3).
Mountain View City Television
Mountain View City TV is the City’s government access channel, available on Comcast Cable Channel 28 and AT&T Channel 99.
The channel provides useful information to the public about city government, including live and recorded airings of City Council, Environmental Planning Commission, and Rental Housing Committee meetings, events such as the Annual Tree Lighting Ceremony, public service announcements, and an electronic bulletin board with information on upcoming meetings and events.
The City also livestreams City Council and other public meetings, as feasible, through the website and social media (currently on the City’s YouTube channel).
Requests for slides to run on the electronic bulletin board, including their production, can be made through the Communications and Outreach Division at [email protected].
Mountain View Community Shuttle
The community shuttle has eight shuttles in operation with four in service at any time. A shuttle graphic (poster) is placed on the rear window of all community shuttles. It can take up to 2-3 weeks for the poster to appear on shuttles due to maintenance rotations.
The shuttle posters are for City events or outreach campaigns, like Vision Zero, and can last as long as needed or until the event has passed. If there are no other ads in the works, the ads will stay up as long as desired.
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A square design, preferably in a vector file format, is needed for the design. Because it is a moving billboard, the text needs to be large and with limited details so that the public can absorb the information as the shuttle passes by. In addition, for shorter-running ads, flyers/posters can be posted on the interior of the shuttle.
The advertising cost is variable, depending on what type of material the graphic is printed on, how many vehicles are available, and other factors. The cost does include printing, installation, and removal of the graphics. Graphic design work is not included.
For more information about community shuttle advertising options, contact Karen Boggs with the Mountain View Transportation Management Association at [email protected] or call Karen at 925-899-2360.
Publications
The City’s Communications and Outreach Division produces publications, which are available to residents and businesses. They include:
• City Hall Connection: The City’s e-newsletter is typically published twice a month and available to the public to receive via an email subscription or to view online at MountainView.gov/CityHallConnection.
• The View: The View is the biannual print publication of the City of Mountain View for residents and businesses. The publication is mailed to residential addresses and businesses two times a year (fall/winter and spring/summer). The newsletter provides updates about key initiatives, projects, and events in the city. View past editions online at MountainView.gov/TheView.
A number of City departments/divisions also produce publications. For a complete listing, visit MountainView.gov/whats-happening/city-newsroom/newsletters.
Public Meetings
In addition to City Council meetings, staff may develop and plan workshops, community meetings, and pop-up events to engage the community.
Be mindful of when a public meeting may generate increased need for community outreach. To assist with determining when additional outreach is needed, consider the following questions:
• Is the discussion about something new that would require the public to take action or follow new regulations?
• Would it affect quality of life?
• Are there opposing views on a proposal the City is considering? • Would the media likely report on the public meeting?
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If the answer is yes to one or more of these questions, contact the Communications and Outreach Division to seek guidance and assistance with additional outreach.
Also, staff is encouraged to plan ahead to anticipate the need for and make a request for interpretation and translation at public meetings when applicable. Available languages, provided in-house, are Spanish and Chinese, with additional languages available through on-demand language services. Interpretation requests should be sent as soon as the meeting is scheduled, or no later than 10 working days before the meeting date. To make requests for translations and interpretations, use the MEP Request Form.
For questions, contact the Multicultural Engagement Program at [email protected].
Social Media
The City of Mountain View manages multiple social media accounts, which currently include Facebook, Instagram, Nextdoor, X, Bluesky, YouTube, and LinkedIn. The listing of the departments’ social media channels, including additional platforms for Police and Fire, is available at MountainView.gov/Social.
Per the Social Networking Administrative Instructions for All City Departments, the City’s website shall remain the City’s primary internet presence with departments using social media to advance the objectives of the City and present the City in a professional manner.
Contact the Communications and Outreach Division for requests for any new social media sites.
Utility Bill Inserts
The standard size for utility bill inserts is 8 ½ inches x 11 inches. There is no cost for black and white inserts. There is a limit of two inserts per utility bill.
Requests for utility bill inserts are made through the Copy Center. Use the Copy Center Request form to make the request and reference the Utility Billing Schedule. The Copy Center needs the request 1-2 weeks before the “Actual Bill Date” for the utility bill.
For questions about the utility bill inserts, contact [email protected].
Video Productions
Videos are among the most valuable tools for telling a story. A well-crafted video can elevate an ordinary event to something extraordinary by showing rather than telling the viewer about it.
The public consumes information in a variety of ways with this visual medium increasingly being a driver for increased reach and engagement on social media channels and websites. To assist with
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meeting people where they are, video is very useful in communicating information, especially for individuals with limited English proficiency.
Consider using video when launching a new program, showing City services at work, and promoting an event.
Multimedia services for producing videos are available through the Communications and Outreach Division. Submit requests to [email protected].