Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout020720-04 COMMUNITY OUTREACH & ENGAGEMENT “Effectively engaging and communicating with residents and businesses” is one of the Town’s priorities. The constant evolution of social media and related platforms has created a new paradigm within which local governments now operate. The Town foresaw this trend and was among the first local governments of this size to hire a full time Public Information Officer in 2010. Over the past decade, the Town has sought to communicate and engage with residents through a community outreach program that seeks to inform, educate and inspire residents about the programs, projects and activities that take place in Danville. The program seeks to engage and inform residents through print, digital, media relations, and person to person contacts. The Town’s Communications and Outreach efforts include: 1. Print Media a. Quarterly “Live Locally” Newsletter - A printed 12-page newsletter which is mailed to +/- 21,000 households and businesses in Danville. b. Triannual Recreation Activity Guide - The Recreation, Arts and Community Services Activity Guide is mailed three times each year to 26,000 residents in Danville, Alamo, Blackhawk and unincorporated Danville. c. Silver Streak Newsletter – A printed quarterly newsletter for seniors which is mailed to +/- 7,500 households in Danville. 2. Digital Media a. Town Website - The Town’s website features information about Town services, current news and announcements, a community calendar, meeting agendas and minutes, publications, press releases, and embedded social media content. b. Danville Connect Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system - Available on Google Play, the Apple App Store and on web browsers, Danville Connect provides a centralized point of access for all Town information, concerns and inquiries. c. Public Meeting Video Streaming- Town Council and Planning Commission meetings are video streamed in real time through the Town’s website. 2 d. Nixle- Nixle is used to provide police and public safety-related alerts to the public on a variety of issues. e. Facebook- The Town maintains three Facebook pages for General Information, the Police Department and the Village Theatre & Art Gallery. f. Facebook Live - Facebook Live is used to livestream information to the public. g. Twitter - Twitter is used as a fast and reliable mode of communication when the size and type of message are appropriate for this platform. h. Instagram – The Town has three Instagram accounts. Instagram posts are shared and reposted among the accounts to help build subscriber numbers and expose existing users to other images and stories from the Town. i. Nextdoor- Over 75% of Danville households are on Nextdoor. Through creating a second account solely for the Danville Police Department, residents are able to provide tips and information to the police department due to the increased functionality. j. LinkedIn - LinkedIn is used primarily for Business Outreach/Economic Development and Human Resources purposes to provide information about Town-sponsored business workshops, events and job postings. 3. News Media For residents that continue to rely on news media for information, staff maintains relationships with reporters who cover Danville and the region. In addition to media press releases, staff regularly reach out to reporters with updates on Town activities or suggestions on human interest or program-focused story ideas. At the local level, DanvilleSanRamon.com continues to cover the San Ramon Valley, including most Town Council meetings and sharing nearly all Town press releases with the public. The Sentinel and the East Bay Times also continue to cover more prominent news stories about Danville’s efforts. The Danville Patch continues to be a popular news site at the local level. 4. In-Person Outreach a. Town Council Office Hours at Farmers’ Market - The Town Council continues to hold weekly office hours at the Saturday Danville Farmers’ Market engaging in one-on-one conversations with residents, providing informational materials and handouts and relaying requests that require further follow-up back to staff through the Town Manager’s Office. b. Coffee/Recess with the Cops – The Police Department holds Coffee with the Cops events throughout the town to engage with a broad range of residents. Police officers also visit one elementary or middle school per week throughout the school year. These efforts allow law enforcement to connect with the community in a friendly environment to build positive relationships with all segments of the community. 3 While each of these efforts have succeeded in connecting with segments of the community, current trends continue to further underscore a move away from “personal” contact and engagement with residents toward increased dependence upon “impersonal” communication – i.e. the use of social media to express views and opinions which may sometimes be lacking in civility or factual accuracy. While always respecting free speech rights, the Town attempts to manage and balance this through having the PIO monitor various media platforms and as appropriate, weigh in with answers to questions or correct factual information. 5. Public Meetings and Participation Assisted by several commissions and boards, the Town Council continues to rely upon public hearings as the heart of the local decision making and policy setting process (local democracy in action). Several public meetings occur each month. Agendas and information are provided in electronic form in advance of meetings and in printed form at the meetings themselves. Though updated to provide electronic information more readily through the Town’s website, this process follows the traditional public input process used by local government– i.e. attend a meeting and provide input or testimony preparatory to decision-making by an advisory or elected body. Attendance at public meetings tends to be low, absent a contentious issue – typically one where residents are concerned that a matter may have a direct or indirect negative impact upon their perceived quality of life. A question facing all local governments is whether or not there may be additional steps that can be taken to more effectively promote and facilitate engagement with, and participation in, the local decision-making process. The annual workshop presents an opportunity to brainstorm ideas on what steps the Town can take to promote greater participation and engagement in the local decision- making process. Attached to this paper is an ICMA article entitled “The Extent of Public Participation”. The article identifies and describes a range of interactions that local governments can have with their communities. Some interesting highlights: Close to 40% of City Managers describe the “civic discourse” in their communities as “very’ or “somewhat” polarized, strident and rude…” Given that the article dates to 2014, and considering the current state of discourse nationwide, these numbers have almost certainly worsened. Second, only 12% of those responding indicated a “high level of participation” in their city’s engagement efforts. These results support what we’ve seen locally. Looking forward, the types of issues that the Town will be faced with regarding state housing mandates present challenges and opportunities. Most recent experiences with the 2014-22 Housing Element and 2030 General Plan underscore as much. 4 Brainstorming Exercise Consider whether or not there are steps or actions that could be considered to improve this process. How can the Town more effectively engage with residents both outside of and through our own meetings? Some Ideas: • Expand the use of Open Town Hall to conduct online polling. Engagement on subjects such as the skate park and Town Green Master Plan show that people respond when prompted. This platform could be used to gather feedback on both broad and specific questions – i.e. What do you love about Danville? Do you own an electric car, if so, do you have a charger at home, where else do you charge? What’s the most effective way for the Town to engage with you? Residents could potentially be polled on a new question each month • Expand the use of Social Media: o Post full agendas to social media ahead of upcoming meetings. (The Town currently posts about upcoming meetings and directs people to the website to see the agendas.) Cut out the middle step and consider summarizing issues to be discussed. o Consider livestreaming meetings on social media. o Redouble online efforts to get people to subscribe to the automated agendas so they have a better handle on what items are on the horizon. • Consider changes to current Town Council meeting format: o Use a ‘mixer’ format and set aside 30 minutes prior to the meeting for residents to come and meet/speak with the Council informally prior to the beginning of the meeting. o Augment in-person testimony at a public hearing with an Online Open House consisting of a short informational video and input collecting survey (i.e., MTC’s approach to soliciting input on changes to the Express Lane Toll Policy). o Invite residents to write in questions to the Town Council mailbox about issues in town. During the next Council meeting, following the ‘Good of the Town’ the Mayor can read a question on camera, provide a live answer and recognize the resident for taking part in the meeting. • Bring printed meeting agendas for distribution at the Farmers Market. • Consider having more informal, mixer style informational meetings to inform and educate residents on various topics. Info sessions could even be livestreamed, and residents could ask questions online. • Consider conducting a series of “listening” sessions attended by the Town Council and staff. Invite residents to attend and speak for 3-5 minutes about a concern, something they like about Danville, something they think the Town needs, etc. The purpose is not to respond but rather to simply hear what residents have to say in a respectful and thoughtful way. 5 • As we look forward to the 2022-2030 Housing Element, consider holding informational meetings similar to what the consultant did on the Parks, Recreation and Arts Master Plan. If the Town is required to zone for x number of housing units, get resident input on how they would do it. Consider using a facilitator rather than having the Town Council or staff run meetings, with the goal of getting people to think about how to achieve this without responding to a specific proposal. These are just a few ideas to get the ball rolling. Councilmembers are asked to consider the degree to which they are satisfied with the current level of citizen engagement occurring at Town Council and Commission meetings; and be prepared to brainstorm and consider other ways to increase and improve citizen engagement. Attachment: A - The Extent of Public Participation, Public Management Magazine March 2014 icma.org/pm MARCH 2014 | PUBLIC MANAGEMENT 76 PUBLIC MANAGEMENT | MARCH 2014 icma.org/pm L ocal governments use a variety of strategies and techniques to encourage public involvement in local planning and decision making. The Interna- tional Association of Public Participation (IAP2) describes public involvement as occurring at five levels ranging from informing all the way to empowering. In this article, we summarize the responses to ICMA’s 2012 State of the Profession Survey, which asked respondents to rate the importance of achieving the five levels of involvement in their communities. The levels are illustrated in a case study of an online public participation project in Rancho Cordova, California. We conclude with a list of questions to help local government managers improve their public participation strategy. >> The e x T enT of Public ParT iciP a T ion ICMA survey expL ores pubLIC engA geM ent A nd the tenor of CIv IC d I s C ourse By Robert Vogel, Evelina Moulder, and Mike Huggins Takeaways ›Learn how local government professionals prioritize different types of public participation. ›Learn how Rancho Cordova, California, is guiding online public participation toward an informed, constructive dialog. 8 PUBLIC MANAGEMENT | MARCH 2014 icma.org/pm icma.org/pm MARCH 2014 | PUBLIC MANAGEMENT 9 Goals of Public Participation Previous ICMA surveys examined how local governments share informa- tion with residents. The 2012 survey delved more deeply into the nature and purposes of local government public participation efforts. IAP2 has designed a widely-accepted Spectrum of Public Participation that identifies a range of interactions that a local government can have with its community. Distinguished by increasing levels of direct public involvement and intended outcomes, the IAP2 Spectrum includes the following five types of goals that a government can strive for in its public participation efforts: inform, con- sult, involve, collaborate, and empower. A number of the 2012 survey questions addressed the perceived importance of these types of public interactions within the local government profession. Inform: Eighty-five percent of the responding local governments report that it is “important” or “highly important” to provide the public with objective infor- mation to assist them in understanding problems/solutions/alternatives. Consult: Seventy-five percent indicate that it is “important” or “highly important” to work directly with the public to ensure that their concerns and aspirations are consistently understood and considered. Involve: Some 70 percent report that it is “important” or “highly important” to obtain feedback from the public on analyses of problems, solutions, and alternatives. Collaborate: The results show that 57 percent of respondents reported that it is “important” or “highly important” to partner with the public in develop- ment of alternatives, identification of the preferred solution, and decision making. Empower: Nineteen percent of re- spondents indicate that it is “important” or “highly important” to place decision making in the hands of the public. Being clear about the underlying purpose of the engagement effort as well as the promise it intends to make to the public is essential to the success of any public participation effort. Without objec- tive information and a clearly understood purpose, the public cannot provide meaningful feedback nor can they partner with the local government in developing alternatives, identifying solutions, and making decisions. Unless concerns and aspirations are understood, problems cannot be successfully addressed. Rancho Cordova: A Case Study When residents of Rancho Cordova, California (population 67,000), asked their city council to loosen restrictions on raising chickens, the council wanted to first hear from a broad spectrum of residents. Before finalizing their decision, councilmembers wanted to encourage participants to first learn about the issue, then engage in a nuanced discussion without polarizing the community for or against the proposal. Under the leadership of City Manager Ted Gaebler, the city decided to use the Open Town Hall online public engage- ment service1 to broaden the discussion beyond the few who typically attend in-person meetings. To encourage the public to understand the issues around this proposed new ordinance, the online service presented objective background information before inviting users to participate in the online discussion. To ensure that the public's concerns and aspirations were well understood and considered, the city created a map of “Engaged Rancho Cordova Districts,” enabling decisionmakers and others to see what residents from each district were saying. Anyone could click on the “word cloud” in the online tool to see statements containing frequently occurring words (e.g., enforcement) and on demographic tallies to see trends in perspectives by age and gender. Compared with Rancho Cordova’s traditional face-to-face meetings, par- ticipation in the online forum was both large and civil. More than 560 residents visited the forum, 66 posted or sup- ported a statement, and 147 subscribed to updates enabling them to remain involved after the forum closed. State- ments were monitored for compliance with the city's guidelines for civility and all but one were found in compliance. Much like a public hearing, each par- ticipant was allowed to make only one statement. Monitoring statements and allowing only one per resident resulted in a collaborative online forum providing clear feedback on the proposed ordi- nance as well as potential improvements to that ordinance. After the period for public discussion had concluded, the council directed staff to prepare a draft ordinance that reflected the feedback and addressed the concerns expressed both on the forum and in other public venues. This outcome was also posted on the forum and e-mailed to forum subscribers to strengthen the partnership between the city administration and the public in the decision-making process. In line with the preference of most of the respondents to the ICMA survey, Rancho Cordova chose not to place deci- sion making directly in the hands of the public. The online forum was designed specifically to preclude the public percep- tion of a public vote or a referendum. The city never mentioned the "v word" (vote), and it chose to collect open-ended statements from residents rather than have them respond to a poll or survey that asked for a yes/no position on the proposed new ordinance. The forum can be found at www. peakdemocracy.com/1379. Civic Discourse and Extent of Public Participation Citing the complexity of issues and the breadth and depth of knowledge needed for sound policies, local government officials often express reluctance for expanding the public’s direct role in decision making. Over the past several years, the often disconcert- ing tenor of civic discourse has also contributed to concerns about greater public participation. A perception of the public as increasingly “nasty, brutish, short” and polarized inevitably raises questions for local officials about the efficacy of their collaboration with that public. Civic discourse. Close to 40 percent of ICMA survey respondents described the civic discourse in their community as “very polarized and strident, often rude” or “somewhat polarized and strident, occasionally rude.” Respon- dents in the New England division show the highest percentage (45 percent) reporting civic discourse in their com- munity as “very polarized and strident, often rude” or “somewhat polarized and strident, occasionally rude,” as did 44 percent of respondents in those Wh ILe enC ourA g I ng greAter pA rtICIpAt I on by the pub LIC, L o CAL govern M ents generALLy stop short of pLACI ng fI n AL deCIs I on MAk I ng d I reC t Ly I n the hA nds of the pub LIC. Figure 2. Framing the Online Discussion with an Objective Introduction.Figure 3. Clickable Map of Engaged Rancho Cordova Districts. Residents were encouraged to read the introduction before participating.Residents and staff could click on the map to review responses by district. Figure 1. Percent of Respondents Who Considered the Five Goals Important or Very Important. Source: ICMA State of the Profession 2012 survey. 19% 57% 70% 75% 85% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% e MPoW er collaboraTe involve consulT inforM 8 PUBLIC MANAGEMENT | MARCH 2014 icma.org/pm icma.org/pm MARCH 2014 | PUBLIC MANAGEMENT 9 Goals of Public Participation Previous ICMA surveys examined how local governments share informa- tion with residents. The 2012 survey delved more deeply into the nature and purposes of local government public participation efforts. IAP2 has designed a widely-accepted Spectrum of Public Participation that identifies a range of interactions that a local government can have with its community. Distinguished by increasing levels of direct public involvement and intended outcomes, the IAP2 Spectrum includes the following five types of goals that a government can strive for in its public participation efforts: inform, con- sult, involve, collaborate, and empower. A number of the 2012 survey questions addressed the perceived importance of these types of public interactions within the local government profession. Inform: Eighty-five percent of the responding local governments report that it is “important” or “highly important” to provide the public with objective infor- mation to assist them in understanding problems/solutions/alternatives. Consult: Seventy-five percent indicate that it is “important” or “highly important” to work directly with the public to ensure that their concerns and aspirations are consistently understood and considered. Involve: Some 70 percent report that it is “important” or “highly important” to obtain feedback from the public on analyses of problems, solutions, and alternatives. Collaborate: The results show that 57 percent of respondents reported that it is “important” or “highly important” to partner with the public in develop- ment of alternatives, identification of the preferred solution, and decision making. Empower: Nineteen percent of re- spondents indicate that it is “important” or “highly important” to place decision making in the hands of the public. Being clear about the underlying purpose of the engagement effort as well as the promise it intends to make to the public is essential to the success of any public participation effort. Without objec- tive information and a clearly understood purpose, the public cannot provide meaningful feedback nor can they partner with the local government in developing alternatives, identifying solutions, and making decisions. Unless concerns and aspirations are understood, problems cannot be successfully addressed. Rancho Cordova: A Case Study When residents of Rancho Cordova, California (population 67,000), asked their city council to loosen restrictions on raising chickens, the council wanted to first hear from a broad spectrum of residents. Before finalizing their decision, councilmembers wanted to encourage participants to first learn about the issue, then engage in a nuanced discussion without polarizing the community for or against the proposal. Under the leadership of City Manager Ted Gaebler, the city decided to use the Open Town Hall online public engage- ment service1 to broaden the discussion beyond the few who typically attend in-person meetings. To encourage the public to understand the issues around this proposed new ordinance, the online service presented objective background information before inviting users to participate in the online discussion. To ensure that the public's concerns and aspirations were well understood and considered, the city created a map of “Engaged Rancho Cordova Districts,” enabling decisionmakers and others to see what residents from each district were saying. Anyone could click on the “word cloud” in the online tool to see statements containing frequently occurring words (e.g., enforcement) and on demographic tallies to see trends in perspectives by age and gender. Compared with Rancho Cordova’s traditional face-to-face meetings, par- ticipation in the online forum was both large and civil. More than 560 residents visited the forum, 66 posted or sup- ported a statement, and 147 subscribed to updates enabling them to remain involved after the forum closed. State- ments were monitored for compliance with the city's guidelines for civility and all but one were found in compliance. Much like a public hearing, each par- ticipant was allowed to make only one statement. Monitoring statements and allowing only one per resident resulted in a collaborative online forum providing clear feedback on the proposed ordi- nance as well as potential improvements to that ordinance. After the period for public discussion had concluded, the council directed staff to prepare a draft ordinance that reflected the feedback and addressed the concerns expressed both on the forum and in other public venues. This outcome was also posted on the forum and e-mailed to forum subscribers to strengthen the partnership between the city administration and the public in the decision-making process. In line with the preference of most of the respondents to the ICMA survey, Rancho Cordova chose not to place deci- sion making directly in the hands of the public. The online forum was designed specifically to preclude the public percep- tion of a public vote or a referendum. The city never mentioned the "v word" (vote), and it chose to collect open-ended statements from residents rather than have them respond to a poll or survey that asked for a yes/no position on the proposed new ordinance. The forum can be found at www. peakdemocracy.com/1379. Civic Discourse and Extent of Public Participation Citing the complexity of issues and the breadth and depth of knowledge needed for sound policies, local government officials often express reluctance for expanding the public’s direct role in decision making. Over the past several years, the often disconcert- ing tenor of civic discourse has also contributed to concerns about greater public participation. A perception of the public as increasingly “nasty, brutish, short” and polarized inevitably raises questions for local officials about the efficacy of their collaboration with that public. Civic discourse. Close to 40 percent of ICMA survey respondents described the civic discourse in their community as “very polarized and strident, often rude” or “somewhat polarized and strident, occasionally rude.” Respon- dents in the New England division show the highest percentage (45 percent) reporting civic discourse in their com- munity as “very polarized and strident, often rude” or “somewhat polarized and strident, occasionally rude,” as did 44 percent of respondents in those WhILe enCourAgIng greAter pArtICIpAtIon by the pubLIC, LoCAL governMents generALLy stop short of pLACIng fInAL deCIsIon MAkIng dIreCtLy In the hAnds of the pubLIC. Figure 2. Framing the Online Discussion with an Objective Introduction.Figure 3. Clickable Map of Engaged Rancho Cordova Districts. Residents were encouraged to read the introduction before participating.Residents and staff could click on the map to review responses by district. Figure 1. Percent of Respondents Who Considered the Five Goals Important or Very Important. Source: ICMA State of the Profession 2012 survey. 19% 57% 70% 75% 85% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% eMPoWer collaboraTe involve consulT inforM 10 PUBLIC MANAGEMENT | MARCH 2014 icma.org/pm icma.org/pm MARCH 2014 | PUBLIC MANAGEMENT 11 communities with the town meeting form of government. The 2013 Weber Shandwick and Powell Tate survey Civil- ity in America,2 which was conducted nationally online, found 71 percent of respondents believed the lack of civility in the United States was worse than several years ago, and 82 percent believed the general lack of civility in politics is harming the country. Slightly more than 50 percent of re- spondents with council/administrator/ manager and council elected executive also described civic discourse as “very polarized and strident, often rude” or “somewhat polarized and strident, occa- sionally rude.” Of particular interest is that out of the 777 survey respondents overall who reported that civic dis- course is “very polarized and strident, often rude” or “somewhat polarized and strident, occasionally rude,” 399 also indicated that partnering with the public in development of alternatives, identification of preferred solutions, and decision making is “important” or highly important.” If we look at the same group of respondents, we also see that 127 of them reported that it is “important” or “highly important” to put decision making in the hands of the public. Not surprisingly, when these 127 are examined by form of government, the town meeting and representative town meeting governments represent, respectively, 19 percent and 20 percent of the total respondents. These are by far the highest percent- ages of respondents by form of govern- ment that rated putting decision making in the hands of the public as “important” or “highly important” and rated civic dis- course as “very polarized and strident, often rude” or “somewhat polarized and strident, occasionally rude.” Level of resident participation. When asked about the level of resident participation, only 12 percent of respondents indicated that there is a high level of participation in their local government’s engagement efforts. A majority of local governments in communities under 10,000 population show low participation levels. Pacific Coast respondents show the highest percentage—19 percent—reporting a high level of participation. Outcome Local governments are encouraging the public to participate in the identifica- tion of problems and their solutions, to share their concerns and aspirations, and to provide feedback and develop alternatives as part of the decision- making process. The outcome is optimized when local managers first ask themselves these six questions: • What is the readiness and capacity of my organization for public engagement? • Why am I involving the residents? • What do I want to achieve? • What do I want to know? • What is the role of the public? • How is that role communicated to the public in face-to-face and online interactions? Answers to these questions3 enable local governments to constructively engage the public in both face-to-face meetings and online public participa- tion methods. Through careful design and monitoring of online forums, localities can significantly improve the effectiveness of public participation by expanding the number of people participating, restoring the civility of their participation, and ensuring clarity about the role of the public in final decision making. EndnotEs 1 PeakDemocracy.com. 2 www.webershandwick.com/uploads/news/files/ Civility_in_America_2013_Exec_Summary.pdf. Page 12. 3 Two excellent tools managers should use in their planning are the IAP2 Public Participation Spectrum (http://www.iap2.org/associations/4748/ files/spectrum.pdf) and the Center for Management Strategies Assessment Tool for Civic Engagement Practices (http://icma.org/en/results/management_ strategies/leading_practices/civic_engagement). Offered by: Cigna Health and Life Insurance Company, Connecticut General Life Insurance Company, or their affiliates. Offered by: Cigna Health and Life Insurance Company, Connecticut General Life Insurance Company, or their affiliates. 869437_ICMA_Firefighters_Govt_outlines-v1.indd 1 8/21/13 10:45 AM RoBERt Vog E l is CEO, Peak Democracy, Berkeley, California, a provider of online civic engagement services for the ICMA Center for Management Strategies (robert@peakdemocracy.com; icma. org/strategies). EVElina MouldER is director, survey research, ICMA, Washington, D.C. (emoulder@icma.org). MikE Huggins, ICMA-CM, a former city manager, is principal, Civic Praxis, Eau Claire, Wisconsin, and civic engagement service provider, ICMA Center for Management Strategies (mike@civicpraxis.com; icma.org/strategies). Figure 2. Percent of Respondents Who Described Civic Discourse in Their Community. 19% 53% 32% 6% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% very P oliTe and ToleranT of differenT oP inions Generally P oliTe and ToleranT of differenT oP inions soMeW haT Polarized and sTridenT, occasionally rude very P olarized and sTridenT, ofTen rude