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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2004-05-03 City Council (5)City of Palo Alto City Manager’s Report TO:HONORABLE CITY COUNCIL FROM:CITY MANAGER DEPARTMENT: CITY MANAGER DATE:MAY 3, 2004 CMR: 235:04 SUBJECT: CITYWIDE REVIEW OF PUBLIC COMMUNICATIONS This is an informational report and no Council action is required. BACKGROUND During the budget hearings for the 2003-05 budget, some City Council Members expressed interest in exploring ways to reduce public communications costs in the context of overall budget reductions. In response to Council concerns, public communications staff conducted an internal review of publications, focusing on identifying ways to reduce costs while maintaining and enhancing open communication with residents, which is increasingly important during difficult times. This review was done with the cooperation of all City departments, under the guidance of the City Auditor. This report includes recommendations and an implementation strategy. DISCUSSION The citywide communications review had several parts: Focus group on CityPages, the City’s newsletter for residents and businesses (discussed in depth in this report) Citywide publications inventory and review, and individual discussion with departments Peer review by external experts in local government communications Discussion and review by City Auditor CMR:235:04 Page 1 of 8 CITYPAGES FOCUS GROUP Because there were City Council questions about the cost and efficacy of the City’s newsletter, staff held a focus group to learn directly from residents their thoughts and suggestions. The group of seven residents was self-selected from a large group of invitees. Of the seven participants, three had personal or professional experience with producing newsletters. The CityPages focus group session (a 1-½ hour meeting held at City Hall) was in three parts: 1. a discussion of the existing CityPages, based on four issues which the participants had rated prior to the meeting. (Attachment A) 2. a review of other cities’ newsletter publications to glean ideas in three categories: Distribution, Content, and Style.. (Attachment B) . 3. a brainstorming session on ways to improve CityPages while reducing costs. (Attachment C) CITYWIDE PUBLICATIONS INVENTORY AND REVIEW Through the Public Information Committee (a group representing various City departments), communications staff gathered 102 samples of major citywide publications and information about their design and production. The estimated $300,000 spent by departments for outside design and printing of these pieces represents a substantial investment in communication (this figure does not include staff costs, which are undetermined). Therefore, staff reviewed them from a citywide perspective and analyzed them for overall quality, effectiveness, appropriateness, and consistency of message. In addition, staff looked for opportunities for cooperative efforts where audiences ahd distribution schedules overlapped, in order to maximize the dollars spent. Communications staff met individually with departments to discuss the departments’ communication goals, their challenges, their efforts at cost savings, and future communications plans. The discussions showed: COST: Outside printing and design costs are more than $300,000 About half of the expenditure for outside printing comes from Enterprise Funds, including Utilities, and half from the General Fund. CMR:235:04 Page 2 of 8 o o City departments are well aware of the need to cut costs and in 2002-03, made cuts in publications totaling $42,000. Efforts in 2002-03 to strengthen the bottom line achieved cost savings by: Eliminating publications Reducing size or frequency of publication Culling mailing list and printing fewer copies Simplifying design to reduce printing costs (e.g., from 4-color to 2-color) Redesigning publication to allow in-house printing Modifying content to have a longer "shelf life" Reducing CityPages from 8 pages to 4 and re-bidding the design DESIGN: Quality of publications varies widely . Departments have differing levels of resources for print communications. Some departments have designers on contract. There are at least two graphic designers who are hourly City employees, but this resource is not widely known or shared. Some departments rely on staff with other responsibilities but who have experience with a page layout program. STANDARDS: There is no standardization of paper, logos, typeface, design or format. There is no overall look and feel to City of Palo Alto publications. Each department (and in some cases, division) has its own identity, which is sometimes used in conjunction with the City logo and sometimes not. In addition, there are inconsistencies within departments in terms of document look and quality. CROSS-MARKETING: Departments are not pursuing cross-department opportunites. Staff found a high degree of dedication by departments to communicating with "their" customers. There have been few efforts to share customer lists or marketing opportunities, with little recognition that Library cus+omers also take Recreation classes and may be interested in City Council news, for instance. Therefore, we are missing opportunities to encourage more civic engagement. STRATEGY: In some departments, communication efforts seem to be driven by available resources rather than careful planning and execution Utilities and Community Services are unique in having on-staff or contract employees dedicated to the communications function. In other departments, the communications function is performed by individuals on an ad hoc basis. For instance, an engineer or a librarian may handle public outreach on his or her particular project. On occasion, the communications staff in the City Manager’s office are asked to assist. CMR:235:04 Page 3 of 8 PEER REVIEW The City Manager and communications staff met with Scott Summerfield, SAE Communications, and Tom Mannheim, City of San Jose Public Outreach Manager, to discuss Palo Alto communications practices and publications in relation to best practices of other cities. Summerfield and Mannheim suggested the following ideas that work well in other cities and are aimed at achieving cost efficiencies while increasing the strategic focus of communications. CityPages Summerfield and Mannheim agreed that a City newsletter is standard practice and Serves an important function- that of providing "straight from the horse’s mouth" information to residents. They echoed the feeling of the focus group that an improved CityPages could function as an all-in-one information source if combined with regular features on topics that are now covered in separate mailings, such as recycling and recreation classes. In addition to saving money, combining the publications would serve to broaden the exposure for each special interest area and would help ensure a consistent message to residents from City government. Design Standards / Basic Elements The communication consultants discussed establishing the use of consistent design standards for publications, which is considered a best practice by most cities and the vast majority of private companies. They suggested an inter-departmental group of high-level decision makers take the following steps: 1. Work on a plan for design and implementation of a City of Palo Alto brand to be used consistently throughout City communications. 2. Suggest basic elements to be included in all City documents, such as a header or footer including contact information, ADA notification and a recycling symbol. (There are currently no standards across departments.) 3. Champion use of a consistent City identity in their departments. Cross-marketing and Coordination of Key Messages Another best practice that is desirable is coordination of messages at a high levek This does not mean that communication should be centralized, the consultants stated, but that all publications should be reviewed by the City Manager’s Office to ensure that there is consistency of method and message. A model for this is the structure of the City’s approval process for web communications, which requires review by communications staff before posting. This prevents conflicting CMR:235:04 Page 4 of 8 messages from being sent by different departments, prevents duplication of work, and makes possible the strategic use of communication plans and resources. To remain well-informed about various department news and issues, communications staff from the City Manager’s Office should have "beats" that they cover, much like reporters. They should attend department staff meetings to find out what’s new and what needs to be communicated to a wider audience, and also to share a city-wide perspective. This extra effort ensures bottom-up news is shared with the larger organization and that top-down messages are widely communicated and understood as well. Frank’s Memo Frank’s Weekly Memo is a successful model for an electronic newsletter and has been copied by other cities. The consultants suggested ways to increase the distribution as well as more attractive ways to present the information and the e- mail notification. Controlling design costs Mannheim and Summerfield suggested several ways to decrease design costs. )~ Consolidate design projects and get competitive bids ~ Identify and use in-house (hourly) designers. The hourly rate for staff is much lower than for outside designers )~ Require graphic artists to develop templates that can be customized by City staff and stop re-designing the same materials year after year if only an update is needed City Web Site The consultants did not review the City’s web site, but shared some best practices from other cities: have a recognizable, consistent look and feel to web site organize the site by function, not department exercise quality control in messaging and design empower and encourage depamnent contacts to keep sections up to date make web site part of overall strategic communications plan continue producing print publications to ensure access to information for all audiences CITY AUDITOR ROLE During the planning and implementation of this review, the City Auditor contributed the following: CMR:235:04 Page 5 of 8 Defined scope of the review Reviewed findings Made recommendations based on findings and in consultation with staff Will review actions and timeline periodically Worked with staff to analyze public communications budget. Revisions will appear in proposed 2004-05 budget. RECOMMENDATIONS Further efficiencies in print publications can be achieved by >~ Integrating general information publications into CityPages or the Enjoy! catalog- ~ Consolidating printing and design contracts ~ Employing standard elements and templates ~ Assigning City Manager’s Office public communications staff the role of oversight and approval of city publications ACTION PLAN The City Manager and City Auditor recommend the following actions and timeline for implementation: Communications Area Coordination Objective Increase communication among departments at staff level Keep current on all department issues and news to shape citywide perspective Better coordinate major city publications such as CityPages, Enjoy! catalog, and utility bill inserts to increase effectiveness and reduce costs Action Use cross-departmental committee to discuss communication issues Establish "beat" system for CMO staff to attend dept. meetings Begin coordination by City Manager’s Office (CMO) Timeline/ responsibility Done Done July 2004 (CMO) CMR:235:04 Page 6 of 8 Objective ActionCommunications Area Cross-marketing Citywide standards Printing and graphic design City web site Take advantage of opportunities to expand "customer base" for each service or department Explore ways to cross market Achieve best practice of consistent look and feel for City publications Increase effectiveness of City publications Reduce printing costs Reduce design costs Increase effectiveness of web search Use Enjoy! catalog and CityPages to increase awareness of City services and promote civic participation Compile inventory of customer lists Coordinate publications through CMO to ensure message consistency and publication quality Prepare guidelines for design standards Use single contractor (in- house or contract) for most City publications to ensure consistency and best price Bid business to single vendor if feasible to improve consistency and pricing Have designers provide templates that can be re- used in future years Re-tool search engine to provide more meaningful Timeline/ responsibility Dec. 2004 (CMO) Dec. 2004 (PIC) July 2004 December 2004 (CMO) December 2004 As contracts expire July 2004 Ongoing Organize web site around services, not departments; improve usability results Identify resources to do re- design 2005, or when resources allow CMR:235:04 Page 7 of 8 Objective ActionCommunications Area City Web site (cont.) CityPages Frank’ s Weekly Memo PREPARED BY: Improve consistency and coordination of messages and design Reduce design costs Reduce printing costs Enhance effectiveness of newSletter in delivering news on City issues Share costs with enterprise funds and other departments Enhance effectiveness and increase audience Encourage use of listserv Continue coordination of content through CMO Bid out design Reduce number of pages Use comments from focus group and experts to redesign content Investigate opportunities to integrate City publications for optimum distribution and cost savings Redesign e-mail notification to provide summaries in html format Use Council agenda and Council auto-response to publicize Ma Communications Manager REVIEWED BY: ~ ~/x~K-4~ Sharon Erickson, C~ CITY MANAGER APPROVAL: Franl~enest, City Manager Timeline/ responsibility, Ongoing Done Done Ongoing August 2004 December 2004 Done ATTACHMENTS: Attachment A: Comments from CityPages Focus Group Attachment B: Discussion of Other Cities’ Newsletters Attachment C: Ideas Expressed in Brainstorming Session CMR:235:04 Page 8 of 8 Citywide Self-review of Public Communications CMR:235:04 Attachment A - p. 1 Attachment A Comments from CityPages Focus Group Most participants chose May 2003 issue as their favorite. Written comments on the issue were as follows: ¯Overall relevance/timeliness; I remember receiving and reading it, and found it helpful A star issue! Use of colors really make it a standout. Very nice looking. Graphics, white space, typeface and content make it the best one. []It gives a lot of information on the current budget crisis. It attempts to answer all the frequently asked questions people have. And it gives suggestions on what we can do to help and stay informed: []Visually the most pleasing. Info on budget cuts and related topics extremely important []Discusses critical issues []Use of graphics, colors [](August 2001 issue) Sustainability issues and PA facts General written comments about CityPages []Overall, I like it and like receiving it []What is its purpose? What does/should it provide that isn’t already done elsewhere? []Reduce cost possibly? Make it an 8.5 x 11 with really solid info that people come to rely on, save, post on fridge []Visually/graphically: more bold headlines, bullet lists, contrast, white Space []Photos are not adding much (usually too dark, not very professional looking []Smaller font for Editor/CityPagesinfo []Brief primers, org charts, basic facts/data, who-to-contact numbers, etc. []If offering info, make it complete (e.g., Fire Station #4 at 3600 Middlefield (cross street E. Meadow) []Calendar that is comprehensive- city-sponsored events, meetings, etc. []Brief sentence explaining what each committee or board does, with general schedule (vs. meeting dates for the 3 months) []With all the mail (junk and otherwise) people receive in their mailboxes each day, CityPages needs to POP, to stand out. A recognizable set of colors used each issue is best to brand the newsletter and be sure residents will read it. []Content in all stories reviewed is terrific, but I recommend use of more traffic and crime info. [] Overall, CityPages is well done and informative. [] Consistent visuals need to reinforce content. Citywide Self-review of Public Communications CMR:235:04 Attachment A - p.2 ¯City calendar, city budget, city traffic/crime and city priorities most important topics []In general, I think CityPages is well done; it has improved over the four issues we’re evaluating. As a member of the community, I took to this publication to tell me things that may not be included in the local newspapers, especially with respect to major issues such as the budget deficit or the city’s Top 5. In fact, I would be interested in an entire issue dedicated to the city’s Top 5. On important issues such as the Top 5, I would like to have more details and specific examples that you have room for in the current format of short articles on several topics per issue. [] I used the Resident Feedback form a couple of years ago and was delighted with the prompt and helpful response I. received. It’s a very good feature. Do people know that? Would -it be possible (valuable?) to give some statistics on this (so many inquiries on this or that topic, so many problems solved, etc.)? []Go on-line. Save trees. Make it interactive. Give it as a project to high school student Citywide Self-review of Public Communications CMR:235:04 Attachment B- p.1 Attachment B Focus Group Discussion of Other Cities’ Newsletters DISTRIBUTION Consider "insert" distribution in the Palo Alto Weekly (it is cheaper - trade- off against degraded readership) Newsprint (with one contrasting color) and Palo Alto Weekly distribution is fine Should include an email address to send messages to the City or Police Department (send us feedback) Get bids for printing from out-of-state printers (can save 30%) Scan each page - make "pushable" as PDF via email Sunnyvale: Good use of one mailing for several items Combine CityPages and Recycler Mt. View: Good use of one mailing for several pieces Mt. View: Combining of the Resource, Water Report, Rec Schedule seems smart. Does it save $$? Is there a downside to too many things arriving at once? STYLE Print important information on post-card type inserts that can be saved - on a refrigerator or next to a phone Contents that can be seen before you open Menlo Park: Too cluttered!! Like a supermarket tabloid. Visually overwhelming - orange color, yuk! Mt. View: Dull colors don’t attract reader - "Ask City Hall" great feature to involve residents Headlines are most effective if they answer question: "So what?" or "What’s in it for me?" Mt. View and Menlo Park have similar formats - let’s keep ours as is. Keep tabloid format - doesn’t get lost in junk mail Palo Alto School District: Cheap paper quality, dull colors, content useful, good layout Sunnyvale: Don’t like orange - is it the Halloween issue? Calendar-type too small! 8-1/2 x 11 format is easier to handle and good for saving (resource #2, calendar, etc.) l like PAUSD and Menlo .Park- I don’t like Sunnyvale I like photos of the City (Mt. View) on top banner Don’t copy Menlo Park style - unattractive, and graphics add no content value PAUSD looks cheap, good color contrast, good use of graphics, pictures Citywide Self-review of Public Communications CMR:235:04 Attachment B- p.2 PA City Pages: Good to point out clearly what’s inside - does this well Sunnyvale: Nice mix of articles - seems informative Mt. View: Nice layout, good visuals and use of graphics Menlo Park: Not enough white space - too crowded and dense Use high-contrast headers and side-bars to invite scanning and further reading Content Los Altos: Good idea. phone # liftout" chance for feedback - typeface too small - OK, but basic format too small Content of the View (?) is good - but graphics layout and color very unappealing Menlo Park: City directory, good to include in every issue, and phone #s Calendar: List commission and its dates/times (not straight chronology for all commissions) - saves space Use inserts - saves money, greater impact as more information arrives at one time Add Community Calendar and neighborhood page Determine focus and audience of CityPages versus other publications (e.g. PA Weekly) - what do you do that’s different? Sunnyvale: Neither topics nor presentation grab me and say READ ME! Sunnyvale: Content mostly upcoming events, not really serious City issues PAUSD: Back page good regular reference (a "keeper") Menlo: No white space Mt. View: Too much content - add reader poll to each issue - add standard "articles" and put them in same places each issue - combine with other City newsletters Answering this obviously determines what content in what form is needed. Should there be an overview look at all PA publications? Community Calendar- combine City-sponsored events, meetings, etc. on one page (easy to save) Primer on how City operates/who does what (e.g., Inside Menlo Park) "Ask City Hall" is good Sunnyvale: Don’t like color scheme, contrast - nice layout PAUSD: Informative articles - a little too dense Names of City Council members and other ref (see Menlo Park back page) Calendar is good Los Altos: Color contrast good Menlo Park: Informative articles, good use of colons, good use of pictures Mt. View: Articles good, informative; good mix of information Have regular features in same order: Utilities, Recycling, Public Safety, Budget, Parks & Rec, Meetings, Events Citywide Self-review of Public Communications CMR:135:04 Attachment C - p. 1 Attachment C Ideas Expressed in Focus Group Brainstorming Session Cost seems negligible Put it on the web and make it interactive: read a story and ask a question. "If it ain’t broke - don’tfix it." Don’t put in Weekly unless cost differential is so high that you can publish an extra issue with the savings. Otherwise, it’s important to keep it separate from the paper. Two had spouses read the pubs (hadn’t read them when they were originally mailed). "This is great!" Content is King. Value having info straight from the source. Recognition that papers are biased. Make it a "keeper" by having regular columns Combine with other pubs like rec catalog and recycler. Make it "THE SOURCE" for City info Publications mailed by the City should be recognizable as being City pubs Always include web sources for more in-depth info Keep tabloid format - makes it stand out from the junk mail. Bright colors are best (May ’03 overall favorite) Continue keeping the same color scheme so it’s recognizable. Graphics should be simple, high-contrast, draw you in and explain the story. Good: charts, graphs, sidebars with bullets Ours is better than other cities Citywide Self-review of Public Communications CMR:135:04 Give people a choice of electronic or print Attachment C - p.2 If can’t include Council members because of law, include other staff (dept heads, program leads, etc.) Emphasize "How Things Work" (re-use stories from CityBeat) Include "pre" stories -how to get involved in issue - and "post" stories, i.e. what happened. "This is a reliable source of information about theCity that’s not biased - it’s straight info." Regular features -integrate special publications into CityPages so that everyone gets what they’re looking for and also absorbs something they didn’t know. Get rid of Frank’s photo? No, but include other employee photos as well.