CITY OF SIGNAL HILL
STAFF REPORT
2175 Cherry Avenue • Signal
Hill, California 90755-3799
6/27/2023
AGENDA ITEM
TO: HONORABLE MAYOR
AND MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL
FROM: CARLO TOMAINO
CITY MANAGER
BY: MICHAEL FRATINO
COMMUNICATIONS SPECIALIST
SUBJECT:
PROPOSED 2023-2025 COMMUNICATIONS PLAN
Summary:
The City of Signal Hill strives to provide clear, concise, proactive, transparent, and timely information to our residents, businesses, employees, and media outlets. Under direction from the City Manager, staff developed a Communications Plan that recognizes that our City has a diverse audience, promotes a transparent and honest atmosphere, and uses an omnichannel approach to communications by providing multiple mediums for residents and businesses to engage with the City Council and staff. The City Strategic Plan goals include the need to promote economic development and promote transparency in government.
The City’s key objectives, as defined in this Communications Plan, include employing greater use of social media, developing marketing programs, and updating the City’s website. With respect to both goals and objectives, the City has identified a specific need to proactively share information with the community and promote Signal Hill as a destination for business development. The 2023-2025 Communications Plan prepared by staff would help the City organize these efforts and advance multiple communications objectives that serve the needs of the broader community.
Recommendation:
Review the 2023-2025 Communications Plan, provide direction to staff, and adopt the proposed document as desired.
Fiscal Impact:
There is no immediate fiscal impact associated with the recommendation as its activities are included in the proposed Fiscal Year 2023-2024 Operating Budget.
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Strategic Plan Objectives:
Goal No. 3: Promote a strong local economic base.
Goal No. 6: Promote a transparent and open government.
Background:
The City recognizes the importance of creating meaningful opportunities for public engagement. The City regularly holds public forums, public meetings, and publishes resident surveys to inform the community about decisions regarding public projects. The City has continued working to expand communications with residents and businesses through social media. Residents expect information regarding City operations, events, and emergencies to be provided in a relatively quick and accessible manner. The evolution in our communication preferences requires that local governments employ an omnichannel approach to convey information, provide consistent messaging, and market the community to encourage economic development opportunities. There are multiple audiences the City may need to reach depending on the subject and the urgency of the communication.
The City did not previously have a dedicated full-time Communications staff member to address these needs. To enhance the City’s communications with residents and businesses, the City Council approved the creation of a dedicated full-time Communications Specialist position. Since the approval of this position, the City has advanced efforts to provide consistent updates on social media and leverage multimedia to promote events and offer other important information for the community.
For example, the City upgraded its website and created an online portal where residents can submit service requests.
Now that the City’s baseline communication efforts are established, staff initiated the process of taking a proactive approach to establish a more long-term vision. To ensure the City is meeting the communications needs of residents, staff prepared the 2023-2025 Communications Plan which reflects current and future efforts to inform residents and promote our business community.
Analysis:
The City of Signal Hill strives to provide clear, concise, proactive, transparent, and timely information to our residents, businesses, employees, and media outlets. As part of its efforts, staff drafted the proposed 2023-2025 Communication Plan which identifies specific programs with the goal of enhancing community engagement, providing more ways for the City to reach residents, and promoting the business community (Attachment A). To ensure this Communication Plan is beneficial to the public, staff developed the following guiding principles as part of the implementation strategy:
a. Our City recognizes its diverse audience includes residents, businesses, staff, the media, and the City Council.
b. Our City wants to create an atmosphere that promotes transparency and honesty. c. Our City will use an omnichannel approach to communications by providing multiple mediums for residents and businesses to engage with the City Council and staff.
Additionally, staff offered the public the opportunity to provide valuable feedback on their preferred method of City news and information by creating a digital and traditional survey. The digital survey CITY OF SIGNAL HILL Page 2 of 4 Printed on 6/23/2023 powered by Legistar™
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method of City news and information by creating a digital and traditional survey. The digital survey was advertised on social media, the City website, e-Newsletter, and City Views Magazine. For those preferring a more conventional approach, staff also provided paper copies at City Hall. The survey had 19 respondents and the results are as published:
Communications Plan Elements:
To continue working to promote the City and enhance communication with residents. Staff recognizes the need to develop specific measurable initiatives that will guide the Communications CITY OF SIGNAL HILL Page 3 of 4 Printed on 6/23/2023
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recognizes the need to develop specific measurable initiatives that will guide the Communications Division’s efforts over the term of this plan. Currently, staff measures and evaluates social media posts and e-Newsletter engagement by use of online metrics. The section below highlights proposed initiatives that will guide the City’s communications efforts. a. Be the first and most trusted residential news source about Signal Hill. b. Increase social media engagement by creating a departmental Communications Committee. c. Highlight City department employees.
d. Promote Employment Opportunities.
e. Work with the Police Department to establish a crisis communications plan. f. Provide short form videos to showcase City events, highlights, programs, and information. g. Establish a strong working relationship with local media outlets to promote positive news stories about the community.
h. Promote the City as a destination for economic development; showcase the City’s businessfriendly environment and market competitiveness in the region. i. Create a Signal Hill Leadership Academy.
Staff believes that advancing the communications goals identified in the Communications Plan supports the City’s key strategic objectives. The proposed Communication Plan focuses on these efforts and identifies achievable goals for the City over the next two years. The Communications Plan will be updated every two years to remain consistent with communication trends and adapt to the City’s needs. Staff recommends the City Council review the Communications Plan, provide further direction, or adopt the proposed document as desired.
Attachment:
A. Communications Plan
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