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Item 20 Staff Report Discuss and Provide Feedback Regarding Town Communication and Marketing Effortsrs MEETING DATE: 04-07-03 ITEM NO. COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT DATE: APRIL 2, 2003 TO: MAYOR AND TOWN COUNCIL FROM: DEBRA J. FIGONE, TOWN MANAGER SUBJECT: DISCUSS AND PROVIDE FEEDBACK REGARDING TOWN COMMUNICATION AND MARKETING EFFORTS RECOMMENDATION: Discuss and provide feedback regarding Town communication and marketing efforts. BACKGROUND: cO At the January 11, 2003 Council Retreat, Council members expressed their interest in enhancing communication with the community through a variety of methods. Among the methods discussed were surveys, marketing and communication material, electronic communication, centralized information services, media relations, and Town meetings in neighborhoods. At the January 21 S` Council meeting, the Council confirmed its interest in exploring enhanced communication methods in the context of the FY 03-04 budget. This staff report identifies communication and marketing efforts currently underway and/or to be considered in the FY 03-04 budget process. The concept of Town meetings in the neighborhoods will be brought forward for Council discussion at a future Council meeting in the near future DISCUSSION: Effective communication with the community and with our customers is an important part of the successful delivery of Town services. To be effective, communication should be timely, accurate, accessible, and informative. Staff is undertaking a number of communication and marketing efforts to enhance the effectiveness of the Town's communication. The following discussion summarizes the efforts underway: PREPARED BY: Reviewed by: ./ Assistant Town Manager .Attorney Clerk Finance Community Development Revised: 4/3/03 10:20 am Community Outreach Guidelines: Staff is developing guidelines for planning, noticing and conducting community and neighborhood meetings, for providing notices to residents and businesses about work occurring in their neighborhoods, and for preparing press releases. The <-5clJQ Pamela S. Jacobs Assistant Town Manager Reformatted: 5/30/01 PAGE 2 MAYOR AND TOWN COUNCIL SUBJECT: DISCUSS AND PROVIDE FEEDBACK REGARDING TOWN COMMUNICATION AND MARKETING EFFORTS April2, 2003 guidelines will be distributed to all departments this month to help ensure more effective communication with the public about Town activities. Town Web Site Enhancements: Staff is planning to make several improvements to the Town's web site to more fully utilize it as a communication vehicle for the public. Improvements underway include an up-to-date, user-friendly and informative Town calendar site accessed through one click from the home page; and a revamped Town services site to eliminate the drop -down menus thus displaying available services more readily. We are also exploring the possibilities for the Town to have a more intuitive web site address. Another key planned improvement is for the "What's New" page. This page will be revamped to provide more at -a -glance information about more topics. The viewer can then click on the topic to get additional information. We plan to increase the use of this page for sharing timely information with the community by asking Town staff to provide information on a regular basis. As a follow-up to the Council Retreat discussion regarding "pushing out" information electronically to interested members of the community, it is recommended that the Town use the "What's New"page for this purpose. The idea would be to allow residents and others to sign-up to receive current information about Town activities through the web site. We would then automatically e-mail the address link to "What's New" to the subscribers on a regular basis. This approach accomplishes the objective of providing up-to-date information to interested parties using an existing (and enhanced) communication vehicle. If Council concurs with this approach, we will implement it this month. Marketing Makeover: The Town is working with a marketing consultant who is providing a free "makeover" the Town won as a prize at a marketing workshop for non-profit agencies. The makeover includes a 12-step program that provides an assessment of current marketing efforts; a short and long term plan with specific and measurable goals; and a tracking system to evaluate results. Potential outcomes of the marketing plan include: standards and guidelines for printed, electronic and other visual marketing material; ideas for the use of common graphic elements on Town marketing material; training for key staff involved in marketing and communication; a centralized clearinghouse in the Town Manager's office for marketing efforts; and multi -media approaches for reaching various audiences. We expect to complete the plan by the end of this fiscal year and to begin to follow the plan during FY 2003-04 to improve the quality and consistency of material produced by the Town. Customer and Resident Surveys: Staff is planning to obtain input and feedback from direct customers and/or the community -at -large through an increased use of surveys. The Town currently uses surveys to assess satisfaction with certain services; however, beginning in FY 03-04 more services will utilize customer surveys to assess satisfaction with service delivery. In addition, staff will include the costs of conducting a Townwide, statistically -significant resident satisfaction survey in the proposed FY 2003-04 Operating Budget. PAGE 3 MAYOR AND TOWN COUNCIL SUBJECT: DISCUSS AND PROVIDE FEEDBACK REGARDING TOWN COMMUNICATION AND MARKETING EFFORTS April 2, 2003 Customer Service Improvements: As part of the Civic Center/Library Master Plan process, staff is exploring ways to enhance customer service, such as providing centralized information and referral services. Initial phases of implementing this concept may include: a centralized Town telephone number staffed by employees able to answer a majority of informational questions and make appropriate referrals; a shared electronic knowledge base that provides answers to frequently asked questions and service inquiries; customer -focused service delivery training for employees; and better signage to help customers navigate around the Civic Center. These actions will be implemented incrementally, as resources allow. A priority in FY 2003-04 will be training on customer -focused service delivery, whereby employees enhance their understanding of customer needs from the customer's point of view and what that means for service delivery. Other Efforts: Other efforts include the ongoing production of the biannual Vista newsletter, use of KCAT to broadcast Council meetings, maintaining relationships with the media, support of marketing and advertising to attract visitors and shoppers to Los Gatos, and ongoing collaboration with the Chamber of Commerce. Staff continues to explore new opportunities associated with all of these efforts. CONCLUSION: Staff is undertaking a number of efforts to increase and enhance communication with the community. Some of the improvements can be easily incorporated into our way of doing business (e.g., press releases, notices, etc.), and others take extra effort and, potentially, resources (e.g., surveys, information data base, etc). Because the Town does not have designated marketing and communication staff, we are using existing staff capacity to accomplish communication objectives. Staff will continue to implement these and other actions that improve communication with the public, and look forward to Council comment and feedback on our current efforts. ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT: Is not a project defined under CEQA, and no further action is required. FISCAL IMPACT: There is no immediate fiscal impact of these communication and marketing efforts. Efforts requiring additional resources will be considered as part of the FY 2003-04 Operating Budget. Town Council Minutes April 7, 2003 Redevelopment Agency Los Gatos, California COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANTS CONTINUED Motion by Mr. Pirzynski, seconded by Mrs. Decker, to continue this meeting past midnight. Carried unanimously. Speakers continued: Deborah Kranefuss, representing Live Oak Senior Nutrition & Service Center, thanked Council for its continued support over the years. Colleen Hudgen, spoke of the day care program offered for seniors at the Live Oak Adult Day Services. She spoke of the socialization programs and continental breakfasts that are served. A: Motion by Mrs. Decker, seconded by Mr. Pirzynski, that Council refer allocation of the FY 2003-2004 General Fund Grants to the FY 2003-2004 Operating Budget at the 100% level. Carried by a vote of 4 ayes. Mr. Glickman voted no, stating that his preference was for arts, education, and housing to receive 100% level and the community services portion to receive appropriations at the 95% level. B: Motion by Mrs. Decker, seconded by Mr. Pirzynski, that Council adopt Resolution 2003-34 entitled, RESOLUTION OF THE TOWN OF LOS GATOS ALLOCATING COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT (CDBG) FUNDS TO THE TOWN OF LOS GATOS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2003-2004. Carried unanimously. C: Motion by Mrs. Decker, seconded by Mr. Pirzynski, that Council adopt Resolution 2003-35 entitled, RESOLUTION OF THE TOWN OF LOS GATOS AUTHORIZING THE TRANSFER OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT (CDBG) FUNDS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2003-2004. Carried unanimously. FLAG POLES AT TOWN PLAZA (19.31) Motion by Mr. Wasserman, seconded by Mr. Pirzynski, that Council accept recommendation to keep and use flag poles at the Town Plaza as they are now with three American Flags illuminated until a determination is made in the future to make any changes. Carried unanimously. MARKETING AND COMMUNICATION EFFORTS (20.28) Pamela Jacobs, Assistant Town Manager, spoke of implementation of activities to assist in improving communication with the community. This project is in response to Council's discussion at the retreat in January. Staff will be working with a "What's New" page on the Town's web site to keep the community abreast of items of interest and informing those interested in receiving regular updates of the "What's New" page. Council Member McNutt asked how the program would operate and how it would be made available for the public to be able to access Council more easily. Council Member Pirzynski asked for some methodology on how to promote this concept in the best way to be available to our public. Council Member Glickman suggested linking our site with other government agencies. Council Consensus to move forward on these public notification measures. N:ICIk\Marian's Files\Draft Minutes1MM040703 9 Town Council Minutes April 7, 2003 Redevelopment Agency Los Gatos, California MARKETING AND COMMUNICATION EFFORTS CONTINUED Ray Davis spoke of trying to easily find public notices and asked that more effort be given in posting and notifying people. He also requested notice to the public on how to reach Council by one email address and suggested placing a trailer on TV for people watching the Council meetings. COUNCIL MATTERS (21.28) YOUTH AND ALCOHOL COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIP (21.28) Scott Seaman, Police Chief, spoke of upcoming meetings, and the planned projects to support the youth of Los Gatos. He mentioned the web site for Alive and Loving Life which the community can access in order to keep current on the activities being planned. www.lghs.net/aliveandlovingiassociation.html MANAGER MATTERS (22.28) UPDATE OF STATUS OF 2003-2004 BUDGET PROCESS Mrs. Figone, Town Manager, gave an overview of the Budget FY 2003-2004. She noted that because of the uncertainty of the State budget there is still some uncertainty regarding the Town's budget. She outlined the process now underway and the timeline for presenting the proposed budget to Council. ADJOURNMENT Mayor Decker closed this evening's meeting at 12:33 a.m. ATTEST: Marian V. Cosgrove Town Clerk N:ICIk\Marian's Files\Draft Minutes\MM040703 10