HomeMy WebLinkAbout2020-06-00-2020-rpt (ECiL Best Practives for Municipal Communications) Best Practices for Municipal
Communications
A Report to the Town of Lexington MA Select Board
Prepared by the Enhancing Communication in Lexington(ECiL)subcommittee of
The Lexington 20/20 Vision Committee
Table of Contents
1. Abstract...........................................................................................................................................1
1.1. Top Recommendations............................................................................................................1
2. Background .....................................................................................................................................4
3. Process............................................................................................................................................5
4. Findings.........................................................................................................................................16
4.1. Best Practices for Municipal Communications........................................................................16
4.1.1. Actionable Best Practices................................................................................................27
4.1.2. Philosophical Best Practices............................................................................................33
4.2. Municipal Best Practices Survey.............................................................................................34
4.2.1. Results ofthe Municipal Communications Survey...........................................................35
4.3. Incidental Findings.................................................................................................................39
4.3.1. Membership of Existing Electronic Communication Platforms in Lexington.....................39
4.3.2. Lexington Website Search Functionality.........................................................................40
4.3.3. Response Rate of Lexington Committees........................................................................47
5. Appendix ....................................................................................................................................49
5.1. Best Practices Survey Questionnaire.......................................................................................49
5.2. Supplementary Graphs for Best Practices Survey....................................................................63
6. Bibliography..................................................................................................................................73
1. Abstract
This report was prepared by the Enhancing Communication in Lexington(ECiL)committee.ECiL is a sub-
committee of the Town of Lexington MA 20/20 Vision Committee.The ECiL sub-committee was formed
after the 2017 Town-Wide Survey conducted by the 20/20 Vision Committee highlighted that residents
wanted better communication with the Town.Throughout this report the term"communication"refers
to the bi-directional exchange of information between the Town of Lexington and residents and/or
people working in the Town.
This report contains three major sections:
1. Best Practices for Municipal Communication-A collection of34 Best Practices aggregated from
a review of approximately thirty municipal communications plans and other municipal
communications publications.
2. Best Practices Survey of Twenty Three Municipalities-A survey,developed and administered by
the ECiL committee,to twenty three municipalities including Lexington to assess their familiarity
with,and progress on,implementing Best Practices.
3. Incidental Findings-A collection of observations and findings,accumulated during the course of
this project,that provide insights into the function of the existing communication structures
within Lexington.
The following recommendations are those that the committee believes will have the biggest impact on
improving communication between the Town and residents.These recommendations are based on the
findings from the work documented in the three sections listed above.Please see section 4.1 Best
Practices for Municipal Communications of this document for the complete list of recommendations.
1.1.Top Recommendations
1. Develop a Town-wide communication plan and update the plan regularly as town priorities
change.
o Among other criteria,this plan should identify the many target populations within the town and
identify the best communication means to reach these populations.The plan should also
suggest criteria for when town departments should implement project-specific communication
plans to engage with stakeholders affected by the project.One of the main reasons for such a
plan is to"Ensure that the top priorities for engagement receive enough resources to be done
well and not raising false expectations about staff capacity to engage on all possible topics."'
2. Implement a shared communication structure for Town and School communications.
o The Town communication structure should address two important issues:(1)Enable
comprehensive,coordinated,communication of important information through both school
system and Town channels and(2)Address the needs of those residents who are not tech-savvy
and/or do not use electronic communication channels.With regard to the first issue,the ECiL
committee found that for most residents with school age children,the school system is the
primary source of information.Many residents(including many Town Meeting members)who
no longer have children in the school systems lose contact with school related activities,events,
Bhubaneswar Communications Plan(see Bibliography)
1
achievements,management changes,etc.,until a budget issue related to school needs arises.
There should be a modification of the communication structure such that information about the
schools is disseminated to more than just the school population.
With regard to the second issue,the ECiL committee found that many residents are accustomed
to receiving news through printed newspapers. The scope and resources of local newspapers
such as the Lexington Minuteman,however,is diminishing at a rapid pace and many Town
issues go uncommunicated.There should be attention paid to identifying means other than local
newspapers for those who currently rely on such sources.Additionally,fewer people are
subscribing to or reading local newspapers so that is no longer a reliable means of
communication.
These observations highlight two distinct populations in Town.Population one is families with
children in the public schools,relying on the schools for the majority of their important
information.This population is approximately 38%of households'.Population two are those
with limited access and/or ability to use electronic methods of communication(often the older
population in town).Residents 60 or older in Lexington are estimated as 25.2%of the
population while those 65 or older are estimated as 19.3%of the population by the 2018
American Community Survey(ACS). Many people in this latter category utilize diverse channels
of communication(including word of mouth,Town warrants,Lexington listserv,newspapers,
etc.).Creating a unified communications structure that includes both School System and Town
communication channels would greatly improve the flow of information between these
currently separated populations and make the sharing of information more widespread.
3. Implement actions to increase enrollment on electronic communications platforms
maintained by the Town.
o Only a small percent(approximately 6.5%)of Lexington residents are currently reached by any
of the social media and electronic messaging platforms used by the town.(see section 4.4.1
Membership of Existing Electronic Communication Platforms in Lexington)The Code Red system
is an outlier and is used by approximately 26%of residents over 24 years of age.Achieving
subscription by 20%of the Town population to the Town News and Alerts and Link to Lexington
listservs is a stretch goal for a level of engagement.An opt-in signup for Code Red,Town News
and Alerts,and Link to Lexington as part of the school enrollment process may be a method to
increase subscription rates to these systems over time. The Town should investigate ways for
citizens to enroll in its news and alerts such as setting up tables at town wide events,Farmers
Market,etc.Additionally,efforts should be made to connect those citizens who desire to be
connected to social media or listservs,but require technical assistance to do so.One way to
reach citizens who require technical assistance could be to form an e-communication volunteer
support committee.This committee could sponsor events and offer in-home assistance to
educate and enroll new subscribers.
4. Identify and incorporate non Internet centered communication platforms for residents who
choose not to use social media or listservs.
'Maureen Kavanaugh,Lexington Director of Planning and Assessment-May 31,2019
2
o A large percent of the population will never be reached through social media,listservs and other
Internet centered platforms.The Town needs to identify and incorporate other methods to
communicate on important topics.
S. The Town website should serve as the launching point through which residents can find the
information they are seeking about Town related issues.One key requirement to increasing
the usefulness of the Town website is to improve the search function capability embedded in
the website.
o The current search function on the Town website is inadequate and should be improved.See
the section 4.4.2 Lexington Website Search Functionality,for examples of the limitations of the
current search function.Residents should feel confident that if they search the Town website
they are highly likely to find the information they are looking for.
6. Update the systems for reporting potholes,streetlights out,missed trash pickups,etc.
o Reporting these issues are several of the ways that residents interact with the Town.Currently,
residents leave a voice mail which does not receive a response.Some number of days or weeks
later the item is fixed,but the resident never knows if it is due to their efforts.Voicemail is also
seen as an outdated form of communication when web,text(SMS,MMS,etc.),or app-based
entry is available.Web,text or mobile app based entry also reduces the workload for staff which
no longer needs to transpose details to a database.Problem reports should allow residents to
upload photos or images along with their problem reports.Additionally,an automated response
with a tracking number should be created which tells submitters that their reported item has
been received and the estimated current response times for their issue.Residents should be
able to track the status of their request online.Although these appear to be minor issues,they
are some of the most frequently discussed on the various community listservs and social media
sites.
7. Enable a method for Town Committees to more easily be notified of attempts to contact the
committee.
o The currently employed web form submissions to a"committeename@lexingtonma.gov"email
address are ineffective.Since many of these committees infrequently receive email,the
accounts are most likely infrequently,if ever,checked.The Town IT department should be able
to look at when various committee email accounts were last accessed to verify this claim.Also,
due to committee member turnover,the knowledge for how to access the email accounts is
often lost within a committee.In an impromptu survey conducted of 52 of the Town
committees,87%of these committees never responded to a web-form submitted email sent to
the committee.See section 4.4.3 Response Rote of Lexington Committees for details.
3
2. Background
The Enhancing Communication in Lexington(ECiL)sub-committee was formed after the 2017 Town-
Wide Survey conducted by the 20/20 Vision Committee showed residents wanted better
communication with the Town.
The charter for the ECiL project was initially broad ranging and was to include interviews with Town
officials and investigations into experiences with communications systems used in the past by Lexington,
among other topics.The team was,however,surprised by early work that showed there was no clear-
cut guidance on what constituted Best Practices for municipal communication.A Best Practice is defined
by Merriam-Webster as"A procedure that has been shown by research and experience to produce
optimal results and that is established or proposed as a standard suitable for widespread adoption.i'
The scope of the charter was therefore narrowed to identifying Best Practices for municipal
communications and conducting a survey of other towns to see if and how they have implemented
these practices.Section 3,Process,ofthis document describes how the Best Practices were compiled.
To build the project team,the ECiL subcommittee attempted to recruit members from various
organizations across Lexington such as Chinese American Association of Lexington(CAAL),Indian
Americans of Lexington(IAL),Indians Get Involved Group(]GIG),Chinese Americans of Lexington
(CALex),Association of Black Citizens of Lexington(ABCLex),Korean-American Organization of Lexington
(KOLex),Lexington Five and Under Network(LexFun),Lexington High School(LHS),etc.in an attempt to
reach different demographics within the community.Each of these organizations also has its own
communications network.The town Public Information Officer,Sean Dugan,was hired during this
project and became a team liaison with the Town,replacing Koren Stembridge(Cary Library).Due to Mr.
Dugan's involvement,many of these Best Practices have already been implemented,rather than waiting
for this report to be completed.
Current Members:
Marian Cohen,PK Shiu,Margaret Coppex,Mark Manasasx+,Hong Xie,Sean Dugan*,Kathleen Lenihan*,
Mark Sandeen*
Past Members:
Candy McLaughlin+,Glenn Parker+,Joe Pato*,Sherry Zhu+,Harry Forsdick+,Koren Stembridge+*,
Bhumip Khasnabish
+-Charter writing committee
*-Town Liaison
x-Co-chair
[Itt_tis.;.//�N�N�N_:rrrerriarri__websrer,cornjdictivna_rY/ est..tractice
4
3. Process
This report was compiled using the following steps.The project team:
• Searched for a generalized list of best practices for municipal communications from National
Association of Government Communicators(NAGC),City-County Communications&Marketing
Association(3CMA),International City/County Management Association(ICMA),International
Association for Public Participation(IAP2).No such list of best practices was found.
• Accumulated a collection of municipal communications plans and reports for various towns and
cities both in the United States and internationally.See section 1
5
3.1.Supplementary Graphs for Best Practices Survey
The following graphs illustrate some of the findings of the Best Practices Survey.These findings are
described fully in section 4.3 Municipol Best Practices Survey.It should be noted that for some of these
graphs there are a small number of respondents.For this reason,these graphs are more illustrative than
quantitative.
Target populations and most effective types of communication
Facebook
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Twitter
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Email subscription list
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Town website
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Direct mail
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Community forums
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Social events
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It is interesting to note that the only population not identified as'not a target population'was older
adults.
With older adults,the most effective types of communication were identified(in order of towns finding
them most effective)as:
• Email subscription list(21)
• Facebook(18)
• Town website(18)
• Direct mail(14)
9
• Community forums(14)
• Social events(8)
• Twitter(6)
With young adults,the most effective types of communication were identified(in order of towns finding
them most effective)as:
• Twitter(18)
• Facebook(15)
• Community forums(14)
• Email subscription list(11)
• Town website(11)
• Social events(9)
• Direct mail(0)
With teens,the most effective types of communication were identified(in order oftowns finding them
most effective)as:
• Twitter(7)
• Facebook(7)
• Town website(5)
• Community forums(3)
• Social events(3)
• Email subscription list(2)
• Direct mail(0)
With families with school-age children,the most effective types of communication were identified(in
order of towns finding them most effective)as:
• Facebook(19)
• Email subscription list(18)
• Town website(17)
• Twitter(16)
• Community forums(14)
• Social events(14)
• Direct mail(7)
With members of specific ethnic communities,the most effective types of communication were
identified(in order of towns finding them most effective)as:
10
• Town website(12)
• Facebook(10)
• Community forums(9)
• Email subscription list(7)
• Twitter(7)
• Social events(7)
• Direct mail(3)
With those for whom English is a second language,the most effective types of communication were
identified(in order of towns finding them most effective)as:
• Town website(14)
• Community forums(10)
• Facebook(6)
• Email subscription list(6)
• Social events(5)
• Twitter(4)
• Direct mail(4)
With members of social minority groups(LBGT+,special needs,etc.),the most effective types of
communication were identified(in order of towns finding them most effective)as:
• Facebook(13)
• Town website(12)
• Community forums(11)
• Twitter(10)
• Social events(9)
• Email subscription list(8)
• Direct mail(2)
With members of vulnerable populations(e.g.low income,disabled,etc.),the most effective types of
communication were identified(in order of towns finding them most effective)as:
• Town website(14)
• Direct mail(14)
• Email subscription list(12)
• Facebook(11)
• Community forums(10)
• Twitter(8)
• Social events(5)
11
Does your town have a Communications Plan?
23 responses
YPS
0 No
Do individual departments in your town have their own communication plans?
5
Yes,there is a town wade
communkal ions plan AdMianally,each
municipal depadment ims Oieif oven
communlcationG u
ivcommunlrations lan Addl6onally,soma
munidpM deparlmems have their own
communlcations plan
OF No,all departments are bundled into the
town-wide MITIMUnicafions p0an
12
How often do you update your town-wide communication 1pVan?
15 responses
0 Every 3 moinths
Every 6 moniffis
ro, 11/ll Yeaoy
New but pWnhig on yearly
Do you have a"centralized new roorn"?
23 tesponses
Yes
No
13
Has your Town conducted a town-wide survey?
2,3 responses
Yes
0 No
How often does your town conduct a town-wde survey?
16 responses
Ad-hoc as need-d
AnnUally
M annuafly
Evan y 5 years
WE conduded ane fivee yeas ago and
hope Ro do anoffier next year
As needed.top�c specific
Every two years(bienniall)
14
Who develops your survey?
1 15 res ponses
Towyn Clerkon= 2(1339/,)
Town Can7n7ifdae 6(40%)
owro.Staff 12(80%y
consuftant(s)or prof I
12(80%)
mumc�pa
citizenGroulon 1(67%)
Fn.o,.MM 1(67%)
GO 25 50 7.5 10.2 1;i°..5
Do you have recommended response tirnes for citizen 41CILliries?
22 respnnses
0 Yes we have a town-wide
recommendation
0 Yes varies by department
Q,No response times vary by type of
inquiry and aie determined on air ad-hi
0 seMca level agreernems for each type
of inqUity
0 Yes varies by dqartniertt but h also
V depLnds on type of Inquiry and neves...
0 ASAP
15
Bibliography for a list of the plans and reports used.These communication plans were collected through
Internet searches to identify communities with established plans
• Constructed a list of"pain points'to identify areas of concern or frustration to Lexington
residents.This list was cross-checked during the writing of this report to ensure these pain points are
addressed.Pain points were developed by reviewing the 2017 Town-Wide survey and the frequency of
topics discussed on the"Lexington List".
• Extracted recommendations from each of the municipal communication plans/reports,
resulting in a total of 80 recommended best practices.
• Disregarded recommendations applying to the formatting of municipal websites.Website design
practices will not be covered in this document as there is extensive information available from
numerous sources on how to create a useful website.The need to improve the search function on the
Town website is independent of how the website is formatted.
• Combined duplicate/similar recommendations,resulting in 34 unique Best Practices.See the
section 4.1 Best Practices for Municipal Communications of this document for these 34 Best Practices.
• Created questions based on the 34 Best Practices for officials in other municipalities resulting in
a Municipal Best Practices Survey.See section 4.3 Municipal Best Practices Survey,which includes the
detailed findings of this survey,in this document.
4. Findings
4.1.Best Practices for Municipal Communications
The Best Practices discussed in this section were derived from the documents listed in section 1
16
4.2.Supplementary Graphs for Best Practices Survey
The following graphs illustrate some of the findings of the Best Practices Survey.These findings are
described fully in section 4.3 Municipol Best Practices Survey.It should be noted that for some of these
graphs there are a small number of respondents.For this reason,these graphs are more illustrative than
quantitative.
Target populations and most effective types of communication
Facebook
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Twitter
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17
Email subscription list
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Minorities I
ESL Illllllllllllllllllllollllllllllllllllllll
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Families �IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII�IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII I
Teens Illlllllllllllllllllollllll
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Town website
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Minorities �Illlllllllllllllllll pllllllllllllllllllollllllllllllllllllll ollllllllllllll
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18
Direct mail
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Minorities
ESL IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIo11111111111111111111011111111111111111111
Ethnic communities �IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII�IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIVIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
Families Illlllllllllllllllllollllllllllllllllllllpllllllllllllllllllollllllllllllllllllll ollllllllllllllllllllpllllllllllllllllllol
Teens
Young adults
Older adults �Illlllllllllllllllll ollllllllllllllllllllullllllllllllllllllll ollllllllllllllllllll
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16
Community forums
Vulnerable populations IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIOIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIuIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII uIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII Vllllllllllllllllllll d
Minorities �Illlllllllllllllllll ollllllllllllllllllll ollllllllllllllllllll ollllllllllllllllllll ollllllllllllllllllll
ESL Iuuuuuuuuuiouuuuuuuuuuupuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuui4uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuiVuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu�
Ethnic communities Illlllllllllllllllllollllllllllllllllllllullllllllllllllllllll ullllllllllllllllllll
Families Illlllllllllllllllllollllllllllllllllllllullllllllllllllllllll ullllllllllllllllllll
Teens �Illlllllllllllllllll tlllllllllllllllllllll
Young adults �IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII �IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII �IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII Y
Older adults �Illlllllllllllllllll ollllllllllllllllllll ollllllllllllllllllll ollllllllllllllllllll ollllllllllllllllllll
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16
19
Social events
Vulnerable populations Illlllllllllllllllllollllllllllllllllllll�llllllllllllllllllll
Minorities u o
ESL IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIo11111111111111111111011111111111111111111
Ethnic communities Illlllllllllllllllllollllllllllllllllllllullllllllllllllllllll ullllllllllllllllllll
Families Illlllllllllllllllllollllllllllllllllllllullllllllllllllllllll ullllllllllllllllllll
Teens IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIOIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII I
Young adults IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIOIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIuIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII uIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII �IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII I
Older adults �Illlllllllllllllllll ollllllllllllllllllllullllllllllllllllllll
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16
Not a target population
Vulnerable populations Illlllllllllllllllllollllllllllllllllllll
Minorities �IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII ollllllllllllllllllll u
ESL IuuuuuuuuulouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuVuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuutl
Ethnic communities Illlllllllllllllllllollllllllllllllllllll ullllllllllllllllllll ullllllllllllllllllll
Families �IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII�IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
Teens �Illlllllllllllllllll �lllllllllllllllllllollllllllllllllllllll tlllllllllllllllllllll
Young adults �IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII Y
Older adults
0 1 2 3 4 S 6
It is interesting to note that the only population not identified as'not a target population'was older
adults.
With older adults,the most effective types of communication were identified(in order of towns finding
them most effective)as:
• Email subscription list(21)
• Facebook(18)
• Town website(18)
• Direct mail(14)
20
• Community forums(14)
• Social events(8)
• Twitter(6)
With young adults,the most effective types of communication were identified(in order of towns finding
them most effective)as:
• Twitter(18)
• Facebook(15)
• Community forums(14)
• Email subscription list(11)
• Town website(11)
• Social events(9)
• Direct mail(0)
With teens,the most effective types of communication were identified(in order oftowns finding them
most effective)as:
• Twitter(7)
• Facebook(7)
• Town website(5)
• Community forums(3)
• Social events(3)
• Email subscription list(2)
• Direct mail(0)
With families with school-age children,the most effective types of communication were identified(in
order of towns finding them most effective)as:
• Facebook(19)
• Email subscription list(18)
• Town website(17)
• Twitter(16)
• Community forums(14)
• Social events(14)
• Direct mail(7)
With members of specific ethnic communities,the most effective types of communication were
identified(in order of towns finding them most effective)as:
21
• Town website(12)
• Facebook(10)
• Community forums(9)
• Email subscription list(7)
• Twitter(7)
• Social events(7)
• Direct mail(3)
With those for whom English is a second language,the most effective types of communication were
identified(in order of towns finding them most effective)as:
• Town website(14)
• Community forums(10)
• Facebook(6)
• Email subscription list(6)
• Social events(5)
• Twitter(4)
• Direct mail(4)
With members of social minority groups(LBGT+,special needs,etc.),the most effective types of
communication were identified(in order of towns finding them most effective)as:
• Facebook(13)
• Town website(12)
• Community forums(11)
• Twitter(10)
• Social events(9)
• Email subscription list(8)
• Direct mail(2)
With members of vulnerable populations(e.g.low income,disabled,etc.),the most effective types of
communication were identified(in order of towns finding them most effective)as:
• Town website(14)
• Direct mail(14)
• Email subscription list(12)
• Facebook(11)
• Community forums(10)
• Twitter(8)
• Social events(5)
22
Does your town have a Communications Plan?
23 responses
YPS
0 No
Do individual departments in your town have their own communication plans?
5
Yes,there is a town wade
communkal ions plan AdMianally,each
municipal depadment ims Oieif oven
communlcationG u
ivcommunlrations lan Addl6onally,soma
munidpM deparlmems have their own
communlcations plan
OF No,all departments are bundled into the
town-wide MITIMUnicafions p0an
23
How often do you update your town-wide communication 1pVan?
15 responses
0 Every 3 moinths
Every 6 moniffis
ro, 11/ll Yeaoy
New but pWnhig on yearly
Do you have a"centralized new rooms''"?
23 tesponses
Yes
No
24
25
Who develops your survey?
1 15 res ponses
Towyn Clerk,.. 2(1339/,)
Town Con7n7ifdae 6(40%)
owro.Staff 12(80%y
consuftant(s)or prof I
12(80%)
mumc�pa
citizenGroulon 1(67%)
Fn.o,.MM 1(67%)
GO 25 50 75 102 125
Do you have recommended response tirnes for citizen 41CILliries?
22 respnnses
0 Yes we have a town-wide
recommendation
0 Yes varies by department
Q,No response times vary by type of
inquiry and aie determined on air ad-hi
0 seMca level agreernems for each type
of inqUity
0 Yes varies by dqartniertt but h also
V depLnds on type of Inquiry and neves...
0 ASAP
26
Bibliography,using the steps outlined in section 3 Process,of this document.Each Best Practice includes
a discussion of how the particular practice would be applicable to the Town of Lexington.The Best
Practices aligned with common themes including Branding,Channels,Content,Diversity,Engagement,
Feedback,Organization,Partners,and Training.Some of the Best Practices are philosophical in nature as
opposed to items with clear cut actionable practices.These items are listed in section 4.2.2 Philosophical
Best Proctices,section of this document.
4.2.1. Actionable Best Practices
1. Develop a communication plan identifying priorities for civic engagement town-wide and develop
appropriate departmental initiatives to build community relationships.
o "Ensure that the top priorities for engagement receive enough resources to be done well and
not raising false expectations about staff capacity to engage on all possible topics."
(Bhubaneswar communications plan')
2. Include Town and/or Department Logo/Brand on all authorized communications.
o To reassure residents that a communication is originating from the Town,it is strongly
recommended that the Town logo appear in the communication.In several of the
communications reports which were reviewed for this study,residents mentioned being
confused about whether an email or other communication was originating from the Town or
some other entity.
o At a minimum,bulk emails should originate from a standardized lexingtonma.gov email address.
It is strongly preferred that the sender of a bulk email,or other electronic communication,
should appear as"Lexington DPW-Jane Smith",versus"Jane Smith".Many people immediately
delete emails from senders they do not recognize.
3. Establish the Town website as the core communication vehicle.
o The Lexington ma.gov Town website should be the first place residents go to seek information
about the town.It is often unclear where within town government information resides.Instead
of having the citizens hunt for where the information resides,citizens should be able to go to
the Town's home page to search for and locate what they need through one search function.
o The current search function on the town website is inadequate and should be upgraded.All
town departments should be accessible,and searchable,from the Town website.See section
4.4.2 Lexington Website Search Functionality for examples of the deficiencies.Residents are
currently frustrated by not being able to find the information they are looking for on the Town
website.
o The function of each of three calendars currently hosted by the Town:All Town Events,
.......................................................
Community Calendar,and SpecialEvents should be clarified and the existence of these
calendars should be publicized.Ideally,the contents of all three of these calendars should be
merged into one"universal-view calendar"to provide a one stop comprehensive view of Town
affiliated activities.Additionally,the Town should consider forming a committee tasked with
htt N N N.authorstrearrr.corrr Preser tabor aurovillecor sultir r-27740122-bhuban..e.s�Nar-communicatio. . . nF..
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27
maintaining the Community Calendar to remove this responsibility from the workload of the
Town Webmaster and Public Information Officer.All calendars should provide an easy method
(iCal,.ics,.csv,etc.)to link to users' personal electronic calendars.
4. Centralize a town"News Room".
o All important Town news should be posted to the LexinL;tonrro_�a,_govTown website.Distributing
..................
important information across multiple sites makes it difficult for residents to know where to go
to receive information that may impact them.Information can,and should,be posted in
redundant locations(and updated in all locations)such as web pages dedicated to the
Recreation Department,DPW,Fire Dept.,etc.
o Create filters or tags that allow residents to quickly access news relevant to the topics in which
they are interested.
5. Identify the channels different(target)populations want to use to receive and send
communications.
o Different populations(teens,older adults,families with school age children,etc.)often seek to
communicate using different tools.Tools include electronic means of communication such as
Facebook,Twitter,email,and non-electronic such as residential mailings,sign boards,flyers
posted in public locations,etc.Note:At the current time,only approximately 6.5%of the town is
subscribed to any of the social media or Iistsery communications methods used by the town,
with the exception of the Code Red system.See section 4.4.1 Membership of Existing Electronic
Communication Platforms in Lexington,for more information.
o Some populations and individuals choose not to use social media and/or some Internet based
communication tools.Methods to reach these populations should be identified and utilized
when appropriate.
6. Seek feedback on the use of communication tools from the public and demonstrate changes based
on feedback.
o Poll users about the effectiveness of various channels the Town currently uses to communicate.
Are messages too long,too short,too textual(not enough graphics),etc.Do the messages
contain the desired types of information?Is it obvious to users how they can provide feedback
on messages?Adjust usage patterns based on user feedback and acknowledge that the user
feedback has been heard and used to make the adjustments.Polling should include questions
about better ways to communicate with various populations.These questions should be
incorporated into the Town-Wide survey administered by the 20/20 Vision Committee.
7. Create a"How to Get Involved"section of Town website.
o Each Town committee/organization that utilizes volunteers should clearly identify how to get
involved,and how to contact the organization,to get involved with their activities.The Town
has made good steps in this direction,e.g.:the Volunteer 0ortunities in the Town page on the
website and the Lexington Citizen's Academy.
28
8. Create an easily accessible inventory of languages spoken by Town staff for reference by Town staff.
o The ability to reach speakers of non-English languages can be useful in many situations.It could,
for example,save lives in emergency situations.
9. Develop a"Get to Know Lexington"document and/or video which should be available in multiple
languages.Create print copies for those who may not have access to the Internet.
o The current Get to Know Lexington web page is focused on economic development.The New
Resident Information page should be reviewed for completeness,but more importantly the
lexingtonma.gov search function should be improved(see section 4.4.2 Lexington Website
Search Functionality of this document).A survey of a representative cross section of the
Lexington population should be conducted to identify resources/services of which many
community members are not aware.Appropriately identified channels should then be used to
communicate these resources/services to potential users.The frequency of administering this
survey should be tied,to the rate of turnover(moving into or out of town)of the target
populations.
i. For example,the "Lexingtarp___for_AII_Ages,__Com nunity Needs Assess aendi5 report from 2019
mentions that many seniors are not aware of services provided by the Town which are
available to them.
10. Develop online"Frequently Asked Questions(FAQ)"for each department.
o Each town department should review the information available on the Town website and
update the content to include answers to the most Frequently asked Questions received by the
department.While there is a short term effort required to conduct this task,the long term
benefit should clearly outweigh the initial effort.
11. Provide regular/consistent information&updates to the public.Follow Best Practices by generating
1-2 social media posts per day for each account;post more frequently to keep followers apprised of
important time-sensitive developments.
o The Town News posted to the front page of the Town website should be updated on a regular
basis so that residents actively seek information from this source.When such pages become
stagnant,visitor traffic drops,defeating the purpose and impact of these tools.As many social
media users prefer not to receive push notifications,frequently updated content is therefore
important to keep users returning to the website often.
12. Provide training to sensitize communications team(s)to needs of special interest groups such as
children,citizens with disabilities,transgender citizens,senior citizens,etc.
o In conjunction with the creation of a Town Communications Plan,the different special interest
groups should be identified and the Town staff communicating with these groups should receive
training,where appropriate.Many organizations conducting these training programs can be
found by searching for"Workplace training for transgender awareness',for example.
s Ittt�s;_/./"wvnN_lexins;tonma,_f,Uv/sites/Iexir stv.r rajfi_les/u_i Iva is/lexir r;rUrar;efriendly full re_L ort fir a_I,_ixif
29
13. Work with local special needs groups to design content for people with disabilities.
o Utilizing knowledge of groups in Town who provide services for or advocate for special needs
groups can augment Town staff resources and expertise.
14. Actively®ularly survey residents to identify issues&demonstrate changes based on feedback.
o The Lexington 20/20 Vision committee has conducted a Town Wicic._Surveyb(last concluded n
2017)roughly every 5 years.This Town-Wide Survey,should be publicly acknowledged if it
results in changes to Town communications.Acknowledging the origin ofthe changes will
provide positive feedback to residents that their voices are being heard and heeded.It may also
serve to increase participation in subsequent town-wide surveys.
o This report,"Best Practices for Municipal Communications"is the culmination of efforts which
began when the 2017 Town-wide survey indicated that residents did not feel like they knew
what was going on in town.This fact should be publicized as the report is distributed.
15. Educate citizens about how the Town works and how to pursue their needs and interests.
o The Lexington Citizen's Academy is a good example of a method to educate citizens about how
the town works.Similar academies with specific foci,such as"How Town Meeting Works",or
"Services Available for Seniors",could also be beneficial if areas of need are identified.
16. Enable"write-in"questions/comments for public forums for those who may not be comfortable
speaking in public.
o Some people who are uncomfortable speaking in public can be great sources of insight and
information.Allowing methods for these participants to contribute improves the feeling of
inclusivity and allows for all factions to be heard,not just those of the"loudest in the room".
17. Enable volunteer contributions to Town and departmental work.
o Volunteer contributions can increase the bandwidth and expertise of Town staff.This increased
bandwidth must,however,be managed.A concerted effort should be made to identify where
volunteer involvement could be beneficial and then to recruit and engage and manage new
volunteers to actively contribute.Responsibility for identifying needs and coordinating volunteer
efforts might require a new or expanded staff position. Alternatively,or supplementary,a
committee of volunteers might be formed for this purpose.
18. Organize events tailored to under-represented communities.
o This Best Practice helps to gain trust,cooperation,and involvement from under-represented
communities.
19. When engaging the public in decision making,tailor the consultation method(forum,survey,etc.)to
suit the situation using the International Association of Public Participation(IAP2)Communication
Methodology Spectrum.
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30
o The IAP2 methodology Q 2 f illars of f ublic Participation')is widely cited through numerous
communication plans as a leading model for actively engaging residents in municipal
government.Utilize methods such as those outlined by IAP2 to engage citizens in appropriate
levels of decision making with the Town.In this era of electronic communication,group
meetings may be more important than expected as it is possible for one citizen to spam
electronic means while posing as numerous individuals with the same viewpoint.Remote
communications platforms such as Zoom,Google Meet,GoToMeeting,etc.could be utilized to
increase community involvement for those who are unable to attend events in person.Some
commonly cited reasons for including citizens during decision making include:
o Exposing new information and ideas on public issues;
o Developing public support for planning decisions;
o Avoiding protracted conflicts and costly delays;
o Developing a reservoir of goodwill which can carry over to future decisions;and
o Creating a spirit of cooperation and trust between the agency and the public.
20. Use social/informal events and activities to reach the community.Establish a regular schedule of
Lexington Community Center visits by Town/Department leaders.
o Speaking publicly at Town-initiated forums and events can be intimidating to many people.
Providing access to Town and Department leaders at informal events is important to make sure
that it is not only a"vocal minority"that is being heard.
21. Provide opportunities for employees across the organization to collaborate through cross-
departmental projects,initiatives,and teams.
o This practice ensures that employees at the many locations of the Lexington Town government
feel part of a larger organization with unified goals.
22. Develop&maintain good media relationships.
o Good media relationships are useful to help municipalities get messages out to the public in a
rapid manner without needing to pay for advertising.
23. Partner with other groups,e.g.business,civic,non-profit,etc.to develop information on joint
projects and shared interests.
o Utilizing outside groups can augment Town staff resources and expertise.
24. Create a system of tracking that enhances employee ability to handle resident inquiries&"close the
loop".
o Resident inquiries should be acknowledged and responded to.A review of the"Lexington List"'
suggests that seemingly trivial issues such as a missed trash pickup,or a non-functioning street
light can cause significant resident angst when calls are not responded to. For example,the DPW
Lrtps.:.(jccir,.X raNs.:cU r.(NNN:ia..r2.:Urt resvurce%res rf;rJCU r_ rurLicat.iv.rLsJ 3....1?2,....1?illars.._crochure,.pifi
a The"Lexington List'was originally a Yahoo based listsery moderated by Harry Forsdick.It has recently been
moved to the Groups.io platform.
31
"streetlight out'line provides no feedback that the message has been received,nor any
indication of how soon an outage may be repaired.Even an email response that indicates a
message has been received and has been added to a database is an improvement over no
response at all.In this Internet era residents expect to be able to submit issues via a web form
or email.Phone calls to a voice mailbox are seen as an outdated form of communication,but
should still be available to those who are not familiar or comfortable with technology.
25. Develop tools to utilize identified communication channels.Tools can include items such as
templates for risk analysis,communication plans,key message templates,etc.
o Items such as the templates mentioned above are tools that help a department,group,or
committee think about the important issues,and the messages they want to convey to the
public,in a thorough,methodical manner.The act offilling out a form,such as a key message
template,can engender discussions within a group about project priorities and objectives.
26. Document and publicize Town customer service standards,e.g.timelines for responding to email,
phone calls,etc.
o Setting public standards,and publicizing them,lets residents and Town staff know what to
expect when communicating with the town. Residents know their issue has been acknowledged
and will be responded to.It is completely acceptable to defer an informed response to a future
date,but an unacknowledged inquiry often evokes frustration and a feeling of futility.
27. Go paperless,enable online/digital transactions where possible.
o Wherever possible,digital transactions should be enabled to remove paper waste,speed up
processes,and enable more comprehensive record keeping and data analysis.Phone
communications can be seen as slow and outdated.Additionally,phone messages require
transcription to become useful data for subsequent analyses.
28. Leverage existing advisory committees to identify key issues.
o When issues face the Town,the skills of existing advisory committees should be reviewed to
determine if skills to address the issues already exist within existing committees.Existing
committees with expertise will obviously be quicker to come up to speed on a topic vs.a newly
formed committee.
29. Train staff to improve their communication skills.
o Identify areas where communications training could improve Town staffjob effectiveness.
30. Train staff with background information and key messages for important topics.
o Providing a unified set of messages is important to instill confidence and trust in Town
government.Conflicting messages cause frustration and extra effort to resolve for both the
citizen and Town staff.
32
4.2.2. Philosophical Best Practices
The Best Practices(BPs)listed in this section are espoused in several of the communications plans
reviewed by the ECI project.These Best Practices,while harder to connect directly with actionable
tasks,can inform actionable tasks.These BPs are listed here along with some links to articles discussing
their importance on fostering good municipal communications.
31. Empower citizens to make decisions.
o Err. a i_rr1,_Citizcr1s._i1r.Gcrvcrrr_ c.rrt
o The Theory of Citizen Involvement
o Citizens'Enaement in Policy IV akin and the Design of Public Services
32. Empower staff to manage stakeholder relations.
33. Create an open and transparent information process for information based decision making by
citizens.
34. Define citizen engagement as an essential municipal service to all citizens and stakeholders.
o What Does Civic En a ement(Mean for Local Government?
33
4.3.Municipal Best Practices Survey
After compiling the Best Practices discussed previously in this report,the ECiL team conducted a survey
of 23 municipalities,including Lexington(see Table 1).This survey was conducted to gauge how these
towns were implementing many of these Best Practices.These towns were selected based primarily on
whether they had an individual or individuals on staff responsible for town-wide communication.The
ECiL team initially thought we should conduct our survey on towns with similar demographics but many
towns with demographics similar to Lexington don't have a dedicated communications role within their
town.Ultimately we concluded that towns with a dedicated communications officer or communications
role were more likely to be further along in implementing Best Practices than towns with more
dispersed/ad-hoc communications procedures.The following towns responded to the survey.
Table 1:Towns Responding to Best Practices Survey
Surveyed Towns Population'
Acton,MA 21,929
Amherst,MA 37,819
Andover,MA 36,400
Arlington,MA 45,052
Brookline,MA 59,126
Cambridge,MA 110,651
Concord,MA 19,809
Danvers,MA 27,400
Everett,MA 46,324
Framingham,MA 71,594
Franklin,MA 28,352
Haverhill,MA 63,639
Issaquah,WA 37,322
Lexington,MA 33,150
Malden,MA 61,246
Medford,MA 57,213
Medway,MA 13,329
Natick,MA 36,246
Needham,MA 30,999
Newton,MA 89,045
North Andover,MA 33,410
Wellesley,MA 27,982
Weston,MA 12,111
'Google search"population of<Town name>"conducted May 2019.
34
4.3.1. Results of the Municipal Communications Survey
The questions for the Municipal Communications Best Practices Survey can be found in Appendix A in
section 5.1 Best Practices Survey Questionnaire,of this report.This survey was conducted entirely as an
online survey which included automated question branching based on the respondent's answers.The
printed format shown in section 5.1 is therefore only an example provided to show the text used in the
questions. Initial contact with these communities was made by Lexington Public Information Officer
Sean Dugan.A link to the survey was then emailed to the participants to complete the survey online.
The following sections describe the findings of this survey.Supplementary graphs illustrating some of
these findings can be found in section 5.2 Supplementary Graphs for Best Proctices Survey.
Title and responsibilities of communication officers:
While the communities included in this survey all had a position within government responsible for
communication,the title used for the person varied from municipality to municipality. References were
made to Director,Officer,and other managerial positions,and the office itself was either located within
the Town/City Manager's office or was a stand-alone office.
Responsibilities included:acting as the Town's spokesperson;educating staff regarding best
communication strategies and practices;curating content of communications and writing press releases,
blogs,newsletters;managing social media presence and the municipality's website;cultivating
relationships within the community;managing projects;developing strategies/strategic planning;
overseeing HR;managing contracted legal services;managing grants;serving as the official records
access officer. In other words,the types of responsibilities were far-reaching and far-ranging but were
not consistent from location to location. This suggests that the definition of the information officer and
his or her responsibilities is highly variable.
Communication plans:
Few of the municipalities(5 of the 23 surveyed)have an established communications plan. Of those,
four(4)have a town-wide plan.Updates to the plans vary from every three months to yearly. The
majority of those surveyed(19)have a'centralized news room'and use a special section of the
municipality's website as a method to deliver news(N=19).The second most used method was email
subscription lists(N=17). In addition,municipalities employed(to a considerably lesser degree):social
media platforms;physical posters/sandwich boards and copies of newsletters available at locations
throughout the municipality;regularly published and mailed newsletters;and press meetings.To inform
the'newsroom'content,most municipalities used one person or a team to collect and edit content.
While the survey was careful to identify specific groups within municipalities that have been recognized
as key sub-populations(i.e.,older adults,young adults,teens,families,ethnic communities,ESL,
minorities,and vulnerable populations),municipalities were also asked if there were populations not
identified in the survey but important in their location.Seven(7)municipalities mentioned other groups,
including the business community,neighborhood associations,universities,newcomers,and
unconnected'populations(those who don't use social media,news,etc.). Methods employed to reach
35
additional or sub-group populations included flyers sent home through schools and posted in locations
throughout the municipality(such as grocery stores and community bulletin boards).
In addition to posting information,municipalities employed a number of different events or activities to
reach the targeted populations. These included:public forums;community'conversations';
neighborhood open houses;'live'town hall meetings with the administrator of the municipality;
outreach to seniors through social gatherings and regular newsletters;multi-language website postings;
holiday events and parades;robocalls;posting information on social media sites;providing opportunities
for ethnic communities to share their cultures.
A number of methods were identified that are used to promote interaction between residents and
municipal officials. These include:public forums;meet and greet events in'casual'settings(e.g.,coffee
shops,farmers'markets)or at community events(e.g.,block parties);Facebook pages;office hours.
Newcomers are educated about municipal services through a variety of means,including:'welcome'
handouts or guides or packets or email through realtors;welcome group of citizens;social media;
website and/or video information;and Citizens'Academy.
The most successful means used for recruiting citizen volunteers were identified as:Citizens'Academy;
community listservs;community participation officers;social media;promotion of boards/committees
on municipality's website(including a Get Involved page);municipality-wide e-mailing and press
releases;cable stations;and networking and word of mouth/personal contacts.
There were a number of different metrics employed to assess a municipality's effectiveness in'getting
the message out'. These included:attendance at public meetings;number of email links opened by
recipients;number of social media responses or phone calls/emails received or inquiries made of
officials;monitoring'chatter'on community listsery or on a community(not municipality-sponsored)
Facebookgroup page.
To track inquiries/comments from constituents,departments use:GIS forms;See-Click-Fix°;310;
emails;Facebook;departmentally shared electronic spreadsheets or handwritten notes. The primary
means oftracking inquiries were through software purchased from a vendor(N=13),manually
maintained phone logs(N=9)and a combination of methods that includes use of each of these.
Recommended response time to inquiries was variable. Some respondents said it varies by department
or type of inquiry or type of response needed,some said ASAP,and others said it is based on a
municipality-wide recommendation of 1-2 business days.
The range and types of responses to each of the above questions illustrates how varied and how
complex are the methods used by municipalities to reach and serve constituents. There were no
identifiable"best"ways of communicating.
Communication channels:
This committee,having tracked the use of communication channels by Lexington residents,wanted to
know if patterns we observe here are similar to patterns observed in other locations.(See section 4.4.1
Membership of Existing Electronic Communication Platforms in Lexington,in this document for more
information on use of communication channels in Lexington.)
36
In Lexington,Facebook was an effective channel of communication with most groups,but especially
with teens and young adults(where it was found to be the most effective channel of communication).
Twitter was also effective with teens and young adults. Older adults,in addition to using Facebook,
relied on an email subscription list and the Town website.Facebook,Twitter,the email subscription list
and the Town website were also most effective among families with school-age children. Members of
specific ethnic communities relied most heavily on the Town website,Facebook,the email subscription
list and community forums.Those for whom English is a second language,found the Town website and
community forums most effective.Members of social minority groups(LGBTQ+,special needs,etc.)
relied on Facebook,the Town website,and community forums. The Town website,direct mail,the
email subscription list,Facebook and community forums were most effective with members of
vulnerable populations(e.g.,low income,disabled,etc.) The least effective communication channels
were social events and,with the exception of the vulnerable population,direct mail.
In Lexington,the percentage of the population using various communication channels ranged from a
high of 12.6%of the population using the LexMavens Facebook group to a low of 3.8%of the population
using the Lexington Friends listsery group.
It should be noted that just in relatively short time during which this committee conducted its research,
use of all but one of the various communication channels,as measured by number of subscribers,grew.
(Again,see section 4.4.1 Membership of Existing Electronic Communication Platforms in Lexington,in
this document.)
Lexington's use of two ofthe more popular communication channels,Facebook and Twitter,is lower
than what was found in other locations. 4.2%of the population in Lexington uses a town-sponsored
Facebook page.While less than 5%of the population in 9 other locations uses Facebook,between 5%
and 20%of the population uses Facebook in 10 locations.
5.4%of the population in Lexington uses a town-sponsored Twitter feed. The pattern of the use of
Twitter in other locations mimics the use of Facebook in those locations.
The most commonly used communication channel,in Lexington and in other locations,is emergency
alert services. 26.1%of the population in Lexington uses this channel,as compared with at least 20%of
populations in most of the other locations.
Tax inserts was identified by one respondent as an effective way of reaching constituents.In this one
location,approximately 45%of the population was able to be successfully contacted.
Town-wide survey:
Sixteen(16)of the 23 municipalities have conducted a town-wide survey. The frequency with which
such surveys have been conducted ranged from annually to every 5 years or on an ad hoc basis when
needed. Topics included in the surveys cover a wide range of issues(economic development,
transportation,public education,environment,physical character,town government,town services,
communication and quality of life),not unlike those addressed in Lexington's town-wide survey. To
design survey questions,municipalities have turned to consultants,requested input from municipal
departments,created committees that work in consultation with departments,and/or used questions
from previously developed surveys. The surveys are then most often administered by consultants or
consultants and municipal staff. These practices are consistent with how Lexington has developed
37
survey questions and then administered the questionnaires. Methods of data collection,too,have been
like those used in Lexington(i.e.,use of online platforms and a combination of online systems and
printed form).
Summary and Conclusions:
As can be seen by the responses obtained,there is great variability with regard to many issues
associated with communication among the municipalities surveyed. However,it should be noted that
there is overlap and consistency with respect to some strategies being employed for enhancing
communication with constituents. The degree to which these municipalities have devoted time and
energy to reaching residents illustrates that communication is recognized as a vital element in municipal
government.
38
4.4.Incidental Findings
Numerous observations about Town communications were made during the course of this project.
Although they are not directly related to the Best Practices findings,they are complementary and are
discussed in this section.
4.4.1. Membership of Existing Electronic Communication Platforms in Lexington
Only a small number of Lexington residents are currently following any of the social media(Facebook,
Twitter)accounts run by the Town.Similarly,the Constant Contact®newsletters;Link to Lexington and
Town News and Alerts have relatively small subscriptions rates.There is a need to use other methods to
reach a broader population.The ECiL Committee looked at subscription counts over time for accounts
managed by Lexington and for some of the private citizen managed social media and listservs popular in
Lexington.See Figure 1 and Figure 2 below.The enrollment data used in these graphs are available to all
subscribers for these groups on these various platforms,e.g.Facebook,Twitter,and the Lexington List.
For the Link to Lexington,and Town News and Alerts,subscriber data was provided by Lexington PIO
Sean Dugan.The Lexington Chinese community also widely uses WeChat.At the current time in
Lexington there are 3(?)WeChat groups containing approximately 500 users each which are not shown j Commented[t]:verify
in the following graphs.For the purposes of the graphs it was assumed that the target population for
these types of electronic platforms is residents 24 years of age and older.
Figure 1:Social Media Enrollment Count vs.Percent of Population of Lexington>24yrs Old
uuuu tw ,
Over time the subscription rates have risen according to the following graph.
39
Figure 2:Social Media Membership vs.Date for Lexington Population>24yrs Old
�s
4.4.2. Lexington Website Search Functionality
An ad-hoc survey was conducted to compare the responses provided by the search function embedded
on the Lexingtonma.gov website versus a search performed using the Google search engine.A search of
any specific website can be run using Google search by prepending the text"site:"to a Google search.
The following examples therefore show a comparison of the search results returned by the
Lexingtonma.gov search function vs.the same query using"site:Iexingtonma.gov<question phrase
here>".
The following Table 2 shows the relatively poor responses provided by the embedded search function
vs.a Google search for ten randomly chosen questions.
40
Table 2:Google Search versus Lexington Town Website Embedded Search
Google Search Town Website Embedded Search
Do I require a permit for a shed on my property?
r"`"a Zuororre)P-AO'na
�t¢Q, Ist,�;t�'l�ut�ar!°P',, raruitte�
htt[rsrJ/w—IR,xuigt�nruaIr?xnu<{t /tll x/a[>I—d/a,uungt.q. Jf-
r he ,:xnrq,�)zonmq Ra(r a,t m,rols alt,ur,,o favid ind h,d ra-,od o,a for Plan,(Sp Landscape e Phan(h) k entiflaation Plan.(1) Delarl: (j)Site Details and(k)Proof Plan)
iv(5)taait6finn,,,l he,deferotnerrl&r N,rlass;tl'le;deve[opment options P[ease do not hi,sitaler to
,. rontald urs in advance of[Ile meenra3 date,It you have
l)afe,create,<9.January£i,I€a1R tt.2flam I f€aurvJ in'.l Ivrl^I 3 Oifsce
I`"n l.Jcen t,&PPtr[al1 IFA0's- lawn mfr p_exloatdtrara MA
htp H,— { nit—lir r 9f
�u c�„la r��dhr�n�ug, c�:rc,
„-
gra. 01"AV. HIc„n, JI ,U-)d,w:Oa ”vle'nA1't�"tutlalM°t"C�aX:14Ys[arll°DD
E
.yno ,1161,-qa,,qcr, ,fi..c,t.il ogro
a,.<y��¢ <<., t ,r,�u<r�, �[ �yevr;f�rPuadh�alsraarottrrthttPoflowRnPpasftaPyrr€retals (IIflr1flmnary.`rte,tleaWrefolrrrnantand Use F'Ganfor
wYrlch a DrAi u6ve,S.itet r nntlials.Sukstsyalt;rrt ramaautrrl€,rVs to tlte:?d)16r Zr.+ninpd F+yhtaw da Welt aalr{)ly[re,fktir
FIDE,all dens,i alvt,ssly stated ottieiwis;ai ll rnas ussod Carni
[Ti aclpes fcrr°,i'te:(exin+,gl annia c)ov Dor I wa 1pei a'raiE.,. Clair,ctu.;ftaa1 AalrD uy;.t 3f1,)097-f 4CJIam f oalnal in.t a nr lry CfPice
I1EIrira;rnnuP�fon l',C��Ppa 1D1�49117f1"nt l"fi
�.sd 6.utlq`c pH7c
its
( rru1,Ill adtllRF Mf NTS FOR.::-A PERMIT f O(, NSI RUC r A`;T-r Vt-R INATIrR
` ,n• d„"
M,ru ae t„,mte I<, yl, „a n�.I. re,<a„e.�,w r r•r s.; , ^�,a ,my AN[YT7fd CJf Alkt [F",VIC71 AN[L(,ONNL C T TO 11iE C.ontactolhas lar rtoanae§d work tea show lite is
-yI" ,z,rl'-; CtuaallfieseJ 1r)dp wu k.tar a h1 a,ldr r�lumPet,l, ur,ne,m.[rUNf)IfdC,.Sti,o-t 0p tnlnry Bond in
D ate crea[e€i Afanl 7 X116 12 02lam)fravid In Cnty no+ inrk
,,Ch;altter 135lrrninq-Towal::rf Lexingte.on MA
1dtlnno://w.+,r wl�rinc�CrJnur r�7 /s[t�.^,/taxa ur�tr�rtrrra/tlie�,/../zrrning Yxyhrwnrlp� di��-�7rtf
y,.mY"tS,It tlRuc 11-1,Zr )i Cric'1a i5 0,o n(m,11 cr,luan.r'anu'r'rm 4, 4kaa+pvv!:,i l nyd
M,alll l lad"HyIt, .J,,,r r,,a
41
When is my trash pickup?
Cm b,,de TI 1h I i Collection I Fawn of L exInglon MA Cu h,,d,,T-A,CoH,"tion
Nip........,..1: Lt p,It"M, ,11ti pap "W',„e ..cuu,eoo. [Io,I,,r"',”t h"'d J,, t—h,I Ji,pi,lap 1,,,f
I —k M—ol,,ie rllod,11,Ir�li I he,r r ftu.....,t I I d— f
'1-80032t-30:12
r I'll,Call I RIIJ I,( I I T-111 I)f I IYI,IgWl�MA P111 I ,f ZM 4 df,111 r c I'd I 1,,.al 11
"'pr"",—"Inql -1 ca,i q,T id
Pf, 4,91 t1r,,rllr i 1,, 6 1" 1 1y l 11" Fr-h ('11",t111,1
I I I q 1 1 1 r,-d I l Ing pickup I,i I,
ra,s h&Recyc I,ng Gallecmx)Schedu I o,by s�reei I I own of Lenrqmr MA —I r —uI dl-1 0 h,
"'M 121"I'l
3,I"l)1IQ,I Aw, Ing-coil xw, "(10"$L r 1, 1
q,,,,,,j, c",,,—d
A 'flh", 1 1
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lippl,11r,I I ,II,,,1f lr Uaa fi ,r, nd,v ih 1,r k,,,
,r f
""I" J, 13 2�1 H 'I If rl ll)�,l 1, -1
What is the property tax rate?
I�;"X i,161�r I Y I TrT or�i,xjj)gtoj1 MA Tax Rat- 8
tli c,)"-,—,1 A al
11"11 i,j V, I iIrm 1 11", I
5 F,eque,,try Aked Qu,swx iI Town of Lcxj nglar i MA ,,I I I I"il rod,I I',('(111
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DE th,,_Ice s I"t the t,r e1 whets 111e
P,-,1, d „ 11a 11 rt t,
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FYI 8 Tax C[1ctifiraliov PaCket Ledlinqton Town o f Lexiogion MA
1,
Up, 8 "t
ITu 1,� 1,,lrf f,!,,r ICA 1,1 1.
PIj, i'l, ,,i,III"A I I1, I ff., 11a"o,-0i, 'l
0I 1 1,A,,,1,I),11 1
42
Where can I dispose of building supplies?
How ran 'et Rid M Town of L,x,nillon MA I Ca"n G,[Rid r,f....9•
III P I t 'I ol qt,d- I, t,H, ,Ih t,k 1,1 Y,I itV"-1 P..e I,
I'll I'll"A,,d"j-1 d I 11I,le"', A 1) C 1, 1 F I I f K I A �1 1,P It F V 0 1,Y
1,1�0"1,1, c-dr,i f,I,, ,,,r 16 ,k,f c
D,,riate,E1al C itipose j rovvi)of f exk)(.�Wll MA
....... 1)
ld�I.... -h,[ b,
IffyIvemal WoAe,Shed 1'rivmGfLi'XIh9tOnMA Wl 11, f, PI I�1k, -pave
I',—I'll, V11111 11"t,id ,I L't,"""'l "'t 2;,IJ aJ I w
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ru
What is the non-emergency phone#for the police?
P C)4 Tow[I of I CXii I(JWI)IVIA i I I I(11 o i,(,I I I Io e I,iN I, of, ni,e
h,erOancYl 1,1, c,I
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It 1,, 11 1 1 111, J 11 1".
11![ce Dejmrt ent Policies and Procedures-Town of Li,xincdr MA Poh,r Pio(odhn,,, nu 111
hit:
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lar
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43
How can I contact the principal of Lexington High school?
t optan Il igh SOhero(/Hou wp;l(Ie Ho,' Rid of..
W I I',t, t.tiI.-Igt,"Id"gold""g, I f"llIfill,IIId-['-q!,C'hqJ,t,l CI- f d., etclhlot�],:'.11 In —du l-I,Y,lit
IC I'll C,!,,td ;td- ll C, "A I Y,
JJ "'ingto'd I In,rile,"11011"RICt"l, nd"I"a,0 1 I'm,do m b,11,
Lexnqloi I Pubk SdiucdIC; Hoon dpaqdl ll 11",`, 4 I'd tt ItIll a IR, I,,,Ild—111,'Pl c,d,l d A-
pure
11 1 dIll, .S, I ;t,
1d,d I l- q t,i,,m, A N, th,,11,1,lill LIXIIII
1V, I If Y111 1,1,lel,.
T exiii8luri H jh Jichnul I—T d t Exington MA R 11,,1 11 0,, f— h"t"I",Yl:I 1-rt,Y", ld�30 Q
Mll,,,Nlll�l Ill,Igtl,",;0 al,a,p,,,,,til,,,.,0[11,ID l",I A—,d,i,, n l—1 'Al,I,a.plfl Ill 13 1111''PI1——dd-11
l,,11—k—,C, N
F ,at d"U'll" It, I'N,,I d
What are the road projects currently underway in Lexington?
What Is Pi al t 1)1 r 9C 17 ow 1 0f Lex 1119 tt t 1)MA r ry rt Co1,1"n,I Nott Yurir.a1
I'll,"0......gcvt 1,� fl 1")- --dlAr, :t tngapdI, I 1prq-,TA
1 11 1�1},.+,, "t" 10, t the I s,)l—l. :,I,q-I V, ,d,VAllh D,,;i:,I,t Wh,t I,St--
o— l, d,-1d,I t.c f ¢"ill IC, rya lout .....I,I. A,r t Je,ql,[,r I
0,,t aLw J.ily 2ll' I,
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OJEC Rlpoll 11)2018 ATM(fillcfl)bul vath exlra Town of[,,xinqwn W 4t4 fv.ntl is Pht
Yfl rvrJJt0.,n 111—'L115 t,l, 1)
",,"'',',"'' ', ,,I,I-f ,��Il th. "
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H, dd.,, ,—�,l,,s V-,"L1(11l GI"I (I I'll di,lh.o-,ts or..
11d a--A Np,l 1)�J I'l 5 ap r F,r i ,.n,
I OWN Ol I I XING I ON VIA SAAGI JUST I JS
l,ti C I e x I r I'lt,Y I n gt.1 t b It dg e I A le.Ay I)ut1 It(,t b r -I,dd 1,
I q-,cantly 1,1 7 1"1 1,pmt L I v 13 2�1 t API II,I CA F)(: F AN N I CV I I I Q11 lhe,,ppl,I ln,I I ol,I d,�,t
...... 11,IC&de 'C",,, I,,lh...........�, ,I I J t2(�,,I,A—I
1, "di"t,"Id I ,,1 1'If,,111 1
t"I'll 1, 1,, d I
44
Where do I vote?
11 r,!,:mets&V,;t I,,y[ i,,t[oni�I T,,,,,of A&,gton[AA do I I 1�1 A"1,1"'It,
,np, I-n9ton III ym—unif jullo,s i,I Ile, I, —1,
I 1,il, I Ue li 4 A Bina iii. Kik
f[rus do 1 1,1,1 At re,h,-I vot,,?
11 A, H—1.
Elections&VoIng I1- MA
I Ai,1 1 1, i,V,,1, 1�eewe1 1 ct ofing
11-r41 mrva. T,d f.m uYfld1m rIbmmI,A, I 11,,1,,,111
1111-11-1'1 � II N I..... li 11 34,r l Ji
I firld out Mire I vote? town rif LexingIC)II MA
r rloik,la,t,Mwdr,I findiL whM<IvotI
When is town meeting?
own Meeliriq I own of Leyinp,)n MA
I hii,-I I I-Ili 11,11 11 1011d" 11-1 1-1 ill,ii A�,"'I I M-
Uuuld k Slic:Ail'I mi,,,Vjng,
About Town Mi.ining I Town of Lexington MA T,,,m nnu u,. A —I,I,!n In, I -I,,11l "I N"',
........I... A-im,I I 1, 1,1iii, r 1,
D",I 2c i'..I 3. J I
A I 1b A, 11-11 M11111119 I MA Al-flng
p,;l,,,,n I-I cVf)iijwx)I �rnual 1-1 ys.minj "bo"T—,
—,,,d ?2)", W 2, ,1 "k 1 1
45
Who is my town meeting member?
Abnill Ir.v-Meelirg I Town(If Lexington MA Op! t irvs ill fix,J'(Plvu
`7 1 'Iij ":,11 111' 112,111111,
............
Town fo(�eu?g Fc)wii of Lexlnglori MA
11 nip ex i,qvii ri i I,cp,,I I-ne Ill I q�
tl I II 1XIIIIii I j) roll ll,.(ill
11, NO- -cl I I'0.=,A III 1�11 1 Y ic'1�1111 I III i"1'111,
nt 1611-61111 h, I 1 1, 1'1 t I
,��l�11'!11'",I,"l, I......l............. .......
I t/ 11111 t,I 1 1:11 It 11, 10
19 01 0. ,lll"A 1 1:,1 1 it i,ill
2 o i j I i I ft I I m,I t i Ilq r)at L,,F. a cf i i I)l,i row,i of i oxifiIji0i,
M!,.........I jWi,i,U'IM—,I l)q ti"I t-1,""Ai'l,'U,I d,ldll ;�Id f ov,n M,�H ng,
T,"he r. 11 "1 1 111............jut�, ,,l I—,—,1IW 11
I 1(1mA I I 11,iay.l If 111,T.— 1 2 1111 1 IF,)111.1,1,M,do
el l
J I A, 1, 1 A
46
4.4.3. Response Rate of Lexington Committees
The Lexington 20/20 Vision Committee hosted an online event on April 2,2020 entitled:Futures Panel:
Challenges&Opportunities for Lexington.To help publicize this event,and as an ad-hoc test of the
effectiveness of committee email addresses,emails were sent to 52 committees found on the Town
Lexingtonma. ov/boards web page using their respective web-page submission forms.The web-page
submission forms send an email to either a committee email,such as
7020visioncmte�lexirrgjonrn a_ggv,or to an individual with a<iridiidal>��Icxirr_gtgnm�a:_ggv email
.........................................
address.These emails were sent on April 1st and 2°d,2020.Committees that directed their emails to an
individual(e.g.individual Ccblexingtc)nma.gcry vs.L0LOvisicrncmteC lexingtcrnma.gcrv)were excluded from
this evaluation.The messages sent to these committees was:
Dear<Committee Nome>Committee,
This email is serving two purposes.Purpose one is to invite all of the members of your committee
to a"Futures Panel"being hosted by the Lexington 20/20 Vision Committee:
Futures Panel:Challenges&Opportunities for Lexington
2 April, 7-9 pm
Cary Memorial Hall
More info about this event is available here:
haps://L exingtonma.gov/Futuresf anel
Purpose two is to poll the various Lexington committees to see if/how their email addresses are
being monitored.If you have read this,please simply respond to this email stating something
along the lines of"message received"
Many thanks!
Mark Manasas for 20/20 Vision Committee
Figure 3 below shows that of the 52 committees contacted,45(87%)of these committees never
responded.
47
Figure 3:Response Rates from Lexington Committees via Web Form Submission from
Committee Web Page
ro wr
IIIIII orae��os � .o-re_p. os
Y �
m �arllllllllll � � o�
.vomnos co,o� an��a.00m ...omow asc�+� a ��ns�--Fv aovo�.a TO 77, p.rs.w„imom
�oos5-rinds
This impromptu survey clearly showed that the vast majority of the committees in Lexington are not
reachable via links on their Lexingtonma.gov committee pages.Since many of these committees
infrequently receive email,the accounts are infrequently,if ever,checked.Also,due to committee
member turnover,the knowledge for how to access the email accounts is often lost within a committee.
A more robust system of notifying committee members and/or committee chairs that someone is
attempting to contact their committee should be implemented. This is but one illustration of
communication problems with Town committees or boards. It demonstrates,very clearly,that reaching
those responsible for issues associated with Town functioning is difficult,at best. If we want to be
responsive to citizens'questions,complaints,concerns,we need to better monitor and respond to
communications.
48
5. Appendix A
5.1.Best Practices Survey Questionnaire
The following pages show the questions used to conduct the Municipal Best Practices Survey.The actual
survey was conducted entirely online.The following pages are therefore only intended to show the text
used to ask questions.
49
Municipal Communication Best Practices
Survey
This survey is being conducted by a Select Board committee from the Town of Lexington MA
with the assistance of the Town's Public Information Officer.These questions about Best
Practices have been distilled from numerous municipal communication plans and other
municipal communications guidance documents.
Our goal is to gather feedback from different communities,analyze the data,and learn how they
communicate with the public so we can improve our communications strategies.We will make
the results available to all participants,so they can learn about the innovative strategies these
communities are using to reach their residents.All published data will be anonymized to obscure
respondent names and towns.
Thank you for your participation!We look forward to sharing our results with you.
1. Name
2. Town
3. Job Title
4. Please describe the primary functions of your position
50
5. Best e-mail address for follow-up
For the purposes of this survey,a communications plan is defined as a document
which prescribes how,messages will be communicated to target populations.It
Communication describes the messages lobe communicated and the mechanisms by which they
will be publicized.Communication plans usually identify the audiences,
Plans communication objectives,messages,communication channels and timing
6. Does your town have a Communications Plan?
Mark onlyone oval.
Yes Skip to question 7
No Skip to question 9
Communication Plan Specifics
7. Do individual departments in your town have their own communication plans?
Mark onlyone oval.
( ,',,Yes,there is a town wide communications plan.Additionally,each municipal
department has their own communications plan.
Yes,there is a town wide communications plan.Additionally,some municipal
departments have their own communications plan.
,)No,all departments are bundled into the town-wide communications plan
t )Other:
51
8. How often do you update your town-wide communication plan?
Mark only one oval.
Every 3 months
Every 6 months
Yearly
)Other,
Communications Development&Distribution
9. Do you have a"centralized news room"?
A centralized news room is defined as a central location through which all departments can publish their
important community announcements.This may be a special web page on the town website,a monthly
mailing to all residents,etc.
Mark only one oval.
'1 Yes Skip to question 10
(y ;)No Skip to question 12
"News Room"specifics
10. Please identify the methods you use to deliver town news via your"news room".
Please check all that apply:
Chcckttf!tl7t0 ipply.
Special section of Town website
Monthly mailed newsletter
Quarterly mailed newsletter
Email subscription list
Hard copy newsletter available in location(s)around Town
Other: .
52
M How do you collect the content for your"news room"?e.g.,does one person poll
town departments and collect/develop content,or does each department do its
own reporting?
Please check all that apply.
CheckaF!tfrat appi,y
` One person or team is responsible for collecting and editing content from Town
departments
Each department creates and submits its own content
A combination of the two options above.Some departments create and submit their own
content.A person or team collects and edits content from other departments
Other:I
f
Target Populations&Communication Channels
53
12. The next question addresses different populations in your town and how you target your
communications to them.For each population listed,please identify the methods you fined
most effective in reaching the population.PLEASE CLICK IN THE ANSWER AREA,THEN USE
LEFT/RIGHT SCROLL ARROWS ON YOUR KEYBOARD TO ACCESS ALL ANSWER OPTIONS.
Please check all that apply for each population:
G'fR,,r k afl'I'hat apply.
social
e.> enta, This is t ''➢thttr-
Ejnr ail suu11 at;arget
FOaC7ri,cik Tcrlttcr ,dtilldse.rF{.rtrart T�:r-an �7irr,+,� r rrrnrr7raarhV 8- Iaupulat(rco�r s:�
4`debsiTe n9a[! tiali.¢rns I,,Ioc'.'. III]Our fclI0Mng
IIS't Questions
]p ail 8c'ri, town
p— r--y p—^l I—� —q e^t^c^:�. y�^� ^^
Older add rs° 1p ..� lu;.—....�.1y 4_.....1 II.... I I�.......I y��q� 1.......yf yt.—...�1 �R.,.—,.,..y1
4cu�urrq;}�adultb p ��I u,..,..,.1 �—y 1�.—.,..ryJ �1..—..,.1q y1.—....1 I71 yl�--�I 17
Teens" t...�� 0 6.._.I 1....1 I������.f F— 1.,,.,,.,,1 1......1 k,7
fainiIIes
evI,h schz'ol 4 1 C l f C C 1
age chiklren
MC ic,
1111 spec
is � � � ��
oofTU'P:tLBE7••itie i
CRF,=side,rta
rTh Engli�h Cil
eS ea Set,„Id
langaage
SDC'lf:r
lrm.inont es. pp� r�yq r I �1 rr^^yt 1 y , pp—�ry
(ILE G7,, t_I V...........1 t_I F1 I.....1 F I_..J 1.....,1 1...,..1
special
neerk:s"Ptc.(
Vulnerable
popraI,..3tIo'Ats.,
e€r low 11 ID D E 71 F F
Income,
diPabled,etc,
54
13. Which target populations did we miss in the previous question,and how do you
reach them?
Please enter"none"if you think we covered them all in the previous section.
14. What is an example of a successful event(s)/activity you have used to target a
specific population(s)within your town?
Please describe the target population(s)and the event(s)you conducted to communicate with this
population.Please state"N/A"if this is not applicable.
Town- Town-wide surveys are used to determine the priorities of residents,identify issues of
importance to them,and assess their satisfaction with Town services.
wide
Survey
15 Has your Town conducted a town-wide survey?
Mark only one oval.
Yes Skip to question 16
No Skip to question 22
Town-wide Survey Specifics
55
16. How often does your town conduct a town-wide survey?
Mark only one oval.
Ad-hoc as needed
Annually
Bi-annually
Every 5 years
Other:
17. Topics covered by survey
What are some of the key issues covered in your surveys?Please check all that apply:
Check eel!tlMt r'rl�ry�Miy.
Economic Development
'..Population Diversity
Public Education(Schools)
Transportation
Environment/Open Space Issues
Physical Character(Town center/neighborhoods/historic areas)
.Town Government
'.Town Services(Public works,library,human services,recreation,etc.)
Communication(to and from Town departments)
Quality of life in Town
Other:
18. Who develops your survey?
Who designs the survey format and the questions?Please check all that apply.
"heuk,ifi'rfwr 3YJ'jllj/,.
Town Clerk
Town Committee
Town Staff
Consultant(s)or professional municipal survey service
Citizen Group
Other:
56
M How do you develop the questions for your survey?
Please check all that apply
Check alA that arcPb y
We rely on previously developed questions
We revise previously developed questions as needed
''..We solicit input from town departments
`!We solicit input from town boards and committees
We solicit input from residents
Questions are developed by consultant(s)
Other:
20. Who administers your survey?
Who collects responses for the survey?Please check all that apply.
Ohe(ckafl t:l<aG appy.
Town Clerk
Town Committee
Town Staff
'..Consultant(s)or professional municipal survey service
''.Citizen group
Other:)
21. Which of the following do you use to collect responses to your survey?
Please check all that apply.
(.tPr ect:all that,afpply
Printed surveys are available at locations throughout the Town
"'.Online systems such as Survey Monkey,Qualtrix,Google Forms,etc.
Survey embedded in email message
'.Telephone interviews
Face to face pre-scheduled interviews
Face to face on-the-street interviews
Other:)
Community Engagement and Responsiveness
57
22. Which of the following methods do you routinely use to promote interaction
between residents and town officials?
Pleese check all that apply
C)f�err;dc a!i firad di:rp�ly.
Public Forums
Town official office hours
'.Presence at community events
Meet&greets fortown officials in"casual"settings such as coffee shops,farmer's
markets,etc.
"'.Town official attendance at Block Parties
Other: ,,,,,,)
23. How do departments in your Town track resident inquiries or comments,and
responses to these?
For example.are there systems for recording calls or smalls about potholes,street lights out,missed trash
pickup,etc.Please check all that apply.
lheck eaO tf�ut rla,taly..
!..Manual'phone log",e.g.hand written notes
Departmentally shared electronic/online spreadsheet(s)
Software purchased from a vendor such as See-Click-Fix(R)
...,''No tracking systems are used
Other:El
24. Do you have recommended response times for citizen inquiries?
Mark only one oval.
Yes,we have a town-wide recommendation Skip to question 25
I` Yes,varies by department Skip to question 26
No,response times vary by type of inquiry and are determined on an ad-hoc basis
Skip to question 26
Other:
Response time details
58
25. What is the recommended town wide response time?
Mark only one oval.
_i 1 hour or less
4 hours or less
Within one business day
Within two business days
Within three business days
Other:
Community Engagement
26. How do you educate newcomers about available town services?
Please check all that apply:
Checkall ft'd ipply
Newcomers page on town website
Citizen's academy(classes to teach newcomers about town)
Handouts to parents/guardians enrolling children in schools
'..'Welcome to...:'handouts available around Town
'.Private citizen newcomers groups
Town social media accounts
Other:
59
27. What are your most widely subscribed communication channels?
Please provide your best estimate as to how widely subscribed each channel is based on the population of
your town.
Nfarkonly one avaparerroler.
Less than 5% 5-10%of 10-20%of Greater than 20%
of town town town of town
population population population population
Town-wide Facebook ,
feed -' ----''
Town-wide Twitter j
feed
Town-wide email
listsery/contact
management system
Departmental/topic
specific email listsery
/contacts t `�
management system
Departmental �. ..,
Facebook feeds
Departmental Twitter
feeds
Emergency alert
services such as
Code Red(R) .
28. Which communication channels did we miss in the previous question,and how
widely subscribed are they?
60
29. What have been your most successful methods for recruiting citizen volunteers
across the town and across different committees?
For example,is there a"get involved'section on your town website that lists volunteer opportunities,or
does each committee do their own recruiting,or??
Measuring Communications Effectiveness
30. What are some metrics you use to assess the effectiveness of"getting your
message out"to residents?
For example,if you are trying to communicate a newly proposed traffic pattern in town,how do you assess
if residents are aware of this proposed change?Please check all that apply.
check ac ibae rappl y.
'..Attendance count at public meetings
"!Number of Facebook,Twitter,etc.responses to a topic
Number and type of responses(e-mails,phone calls,etc.)received
Number of people opening email links
Number of inquiries to town officials
Other:)
31. What metrics did we miss in the previous question that you find useful in assessing
how well you are communicating with residents?
Closing comments
61
32. Is there anything you feel has improved communication in your town that we have
not asked about?Do you have any other closing thoughts or comments?
P'.s 2;eantia uY 3 IvOiier f I nil I 5 n€kr e.
62
5.2.Supplementary Graphs for Best Practices Survey
The following graphs illustrate some of the findings of the Best Practices Survey.These findings are
described fully in section 4.3 Municipol Best Practices Survey.It should be noted that for some of these
graphs there are a small number of respondents.For this reason,these graphs are more illustrative than
quantitative.
Target populations and most effective types of communication
Facebook
Vulnerable populations IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
Minorities Illlllllllllllllllllollllllllllllllllllll �lllllllllllllllllllollllllllllllllllllll
ESL 1Illllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllulllllllllllllllll
Ethnic communities IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIDIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII1
Families IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIDIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIDIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
Teens Illlllllllllllllllllollllllllllllllllllll tlllllllllllllllllllll
Young adults �IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII�IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII �IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII�IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII �IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII�IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
Older adults IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII pIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIOIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII oIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII I
0 S 10 15 20
Twitter
Vulnerable populations IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIOIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII Vllllllllllllllllllll
Minorities Illlllllllllllllllllollllllllllllllllllll ollllllllllllllllllll
ESL 1IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIY
Ethnic communities iIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIVIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
Families iIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIDIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIDIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
Teens Illlllllllllllllllllollllllllllllllllllll tlllllllllllllllllllll
Young adults �IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII pIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIOIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII oIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII I
Older adults �Illlllllllllllllllll pllllllllllllllli
0 S 10 15 20
63
Email subscription list
Vulnerable populations Illlllllllllllllllllollllllllllllllllllll �lllllllllllllllllllolllllll
Minorities I
ESL Illllllllllllllllllllollllllllllllllllllll
Ethnic communities �IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII�IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII I
Families �IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII�IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII I
Teens Illlllllllllllllllllollllll
Young adults IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII�IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII Y
Older adults IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII pllllllllllllllllllollllllllllllllllllll ulllllllllllll
0 S 10 15 20 25
Town website
Vulnerable populations IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIOIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII VIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII Vllllllllllllllllllll
Minorities �Illlllllllllllllllll pllllllllllllllllllollllllllllllllllllll ollllllllllllll
ESL puuuuuuuiuiollllllllllllllllllll uQIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII uQIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
Ethnic communities Illlllllllllllllllllollllllllllllllllllll
Families Illlllllllllllllllllollllllllllllllllllll
Teens �IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
Young adults �Illlllllllllllllllll ullllllllllllllllllll ulllllllllllllllll
Older adults �Illlllllllllllllllll pllllllllllllllllllollllllllllllllllllll ollllllllllllllllllll l
0 S 10 15 20
64
Direct mail
Vulnerable populations Illlllllllllllllllllollllllllllllllllllll�llllllllllllllllllll pllllllllllllllllllollllllllllllllllllll�llllllllllllllllllll
Minorities
ESL IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIo11111111111111111111011111111111111111111
Ethnic communities �IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII�IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIVIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
Families Illlllllllllllllllllollllllllllllllllllllpllllllllllllllllllollllllllllllllllllll ollllllllllllllllllllpllllllllllllllllllol
Teens
Young adults
Older adults �Illlllllllllllllllll ollllllllllllllllllllullllllllllllllllllll ollllllllllllllllllll
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16
Community forums
Vulnerable populations IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIOIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIuIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII uIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII Vllllllllllllllllllll d
Minorities �Illlllllllllllllllll ollllllllllllllllllll ollllllllllllllllllll ollllllllllllllllllll ollllllllllllllllllll
ESL Iuuuuuuuuuiouuuuuuuuuuupuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuui4uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuiVuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu�
Ethnic communities Illlllllllllllllllllollllllllllllllllllllullllllllllllllllllll ullllllllllllllllllll
Families Illlllllllllllllllllollllllllllllllllllllullllllllllllllllllll ullllllllllllllllllll
Teens �Illlllllllllllllllll tlllllllllllllllllllll
Young adults �IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII �IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII �IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII Y
Older adults �Illlllllllllllllllll ollllllllllllllllllll ollllllllllllllllllll ollllllllllllllllllll ollllllllllllllllllll
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16
65
Social events
Vulnerable populations Illlllllllllllllllllollllllllllllllllllll�llllllllllllllllllll
Minorities u o
ESL IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIo11111111111111111111011111111111111111111
Ethnic communities Illlllllllllllllllllollllllllllllllllllllullllllllllllllllllll ullllllllllllllllllll
Families Illlllllllllllllllllollllllllllllllllllllullllllllllllllllllll ullllllllllllllllllll
Teens IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIOIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII I
Young adults IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIOIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIuIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII uIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII �IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII I
Older adults �Illlllllllllllllllll ollllllllllllllllllllullllllllllllllllllll
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16
Not a target population
Vulnerable populations Illlllllllllllllllllollllllllllllllllllll
Minorities �IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII ollllllllllllllllllll u
ESL IuuuuuuuuulouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuVuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuutl
Ethnic communities Illlllllllllllllllllollllllllllllllllllll ullllllllllllllllllll ullllllllllllllllllll
Families �IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII�IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
Teens �Illlllllllllllllllll �lllllllllllllllllllollllllllllllllllllll tlllllllllllllllllllll
Young adults �IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII Y
Older adults
0 1 2 3 4 S 6
It is interesting to note that the only population not identified as'not a target population'was older
adults.
With older adults,the most effective types of communication were identified(in order of towns finding
them most effective)as:
• Email subscription list(21)
• Facebook(18)
• Town website(18)
• Direct mail(14)
66
• Community forums(14)
• Social events(8)
• Twitter(6)
With young adults,the most effective types of communication were identified(in order of towns finding
them most effective)as:
• Twitter(18)
• Facebook(15)
• Community forums(14)
• Email subscription list(11)
• Town website(11)
• Social events(9)
• Direct mail(0)
With teens,the most effective types of communication were identified(in order oftowns finding them
most effective)as:
• Twitter(7)
• Facebook(7)
• Town website(5)
• Community forums(3)
• Social events(3)
• Email subscription list(2)
• Direct mail(0)
With families with school-age children,the most effective types of communication were identified(in
order of towns finding them most effective)as:
• Facebook(19)
• Email subscription list(18)
• Town website(17)
• Twitter(16)
• Community forums(14)
• Social events(14)
• Direct mail(7)
With members of specific ethnic communities,the most effective types of communication were
identified(in order of towns finding them most effective)as:
67
• Town website(12)
• Facebook(10)
• Community forums(9)
• Email subscription list(7)
• Twitter(7)
• Social events(7)
• Direct mail(3)
With those for whom English is a second language,the most effective types of communication were
identified(in order of towns finding them most effective)as:
• Town website(14)
• Community forums(10)
• Facebook(6)
• Email subscription list(6)
• Social events(5)
• Twitter(4)
• Direct mail(4)
With members of social minority groups(LBGT+,special needs,etc.),the most effective types of
communication were identified(in order of towns finding them most effective)as:
• Facebook(13)
• Town website(12)
• Community forums(11)
• Twitter(10)
• Social events(9)
• Email subscription list(8)
• Direct mail(2)
With members of vulnerable populations(e.g.low income,disabled,etc.),the most effective types of
communication were identified(in order of towns finding them most effective)as:
• Town website(14)
• Direct mail(14)
• Email subscription list(12)
• Facebook(11)
• Community forums(10)
• Twitter(8)
• Social events(5)
68
Does your town have a Communications Plan?
23 responses
YPS
0 No
Do individual departments in your town have their own communication plans?
5
Yes,there is a town wade
communkal ions plan AdMianally,each
municipal depadment ims Oieif oven
communlcationG u
ivcommunlrations lan Addl6onally,soma
munidpM deparlmems have their own
communlcations plan
OF No,all departments are bundled into the
town-wide MITIMUnicafions p0an
69
How often do you update your town-wide communication 1pVan?
15 responses
0 Every 3 moinths
Every 6 moniffis
ro, 11/ll Yeaoy
New but pWnhig on yearly
Do you have a"centralized new roorn"?
23 tesponses
Yes
No
70
Has your Town conducted a town-wide survey?
2,3 responses
Yes
0 No
How often does your town conduct a town-wde survey?
16 responses
Ad-hoc as need-d
AnnUally
M annuafly
Evan y 5 years
WE conduded ane fivee yeas ago and
hope Ro do anoffier next year
As needed.top�c specific
Every two years(bienniall)
71
Who develops your survey?
1 15 res ponses
Towyn Clerk,.. 2(1339/,)
Town Can7n7ifdae 6(40%)
owro.Staff 12(80%y
consuftant(s)or prof I
12(80%)
mumc�pa
citizenGroulon 1(67%)
Fn.o,.MM 1(67%)
GO 25 50 75 102 125
Do you have recommended response tirnes for citizen 41CILliries?
22 respnnses
0 Yes we have a town-wide
recommendation
0 Yes varies by department
Q,No response times vary by type of
inquiry and aie determined on air ad-hi
0 seMca level agreernems for each type
of inqUity
0 Yes varies by dqartniertt but h also
V depLnds on type of Inquiry and neves...
0 ASAP
72
6. Bibliography
The following ref ere noswere used tocompile the Best Practices discussed inthis eport]- _- Commented[MM2]:Update this table to contain the
-
Reference Title Published by Date Published Accessed Via
�
Final Report onTown-Wide Survey
������
Managing More Effectively With a
Western City magazine
Strategic Communications Plan
Communication Plan Bhubaneswar �
ehuua»eewa'Mu»|
Municipal Corporation
Municipal Corporation � b��Dzm�gouJo
Town mChapel Hill Communications
Townmo�ape|mn
Strategy 2011 �
�
Chapel Hill Town Communications Plan
Town mChapel Hill
z00:-2m06
City mGuelph Communications Plan onoCity mGuelph
Marin County Communications Planun1u County mMarin
oBest Pran neemomemmen�
" �mgen|umoommun|nauone
.best-
Communications
Communications Policy Town mAndover Town mAndover
73
Reference Title Published by Date Published Accessed Via
Sustainable Jersey Municipal Sustainable Institute at the College of
Communications Strategy New Jersey
What's next in Digital Communication for
Local Government Vision Inc
Nine Trends in Digital Government Vision Inc
City of Fayetteville Strategic
City of Fayetteville, NC
Communication Plan
2009-2010 Reno Strategic
Communications Plan City of Reno, NV
City of Chula Vista Marketing and
Communications Plan
Comprehensive Communications Plan for City
of Seabrook TX
2018 City of Grand Rapids Strategic-
Communications Plan
74