After hearing concerns over a lack of communication with City Hall, Laguna Beach councilmembers have been focusing on ways to improve outreach and transparency with the public.
On Tuesday, Aug. 22, city leaders took a look at their internal communications system and how they might make information more accessible to the public. Councilmembers considered adding more technology and ways for the public to interact and learn about projects, policies and events in the city.
Among the new strategies are adding a greater variety of FAQs on the city’s website, adding more information to the mayor’s newsletter, streaming City Council meetings on YouTube and sending out quarterly postcards to residents informing them about upcoming events and programs. Over the next two years, the cost will be about $85,000, of which $10,000 has already been approved in the city’s annual budget.
“People want transparency; that is the trend,” said City Councilmember Mark Orgill. “When I go online and look at the League of Cities, they’re all about touting their success with full transparency. We should make sure there are tools that allow us to get as much information out to the public as possible.”
The council also asked that City Manager Shohreh Dupuis amend her media policy, which has limited journalists’ ability to speak directly with department heads for the past three years and instead requires them to rely on emailed questions and answers.
The popular beach town, with a population of about 23,000 and more than 6.5 million annual visitors, has already made strides using its website, social media platforms, community newsletters, a mayor’s podcast and press releases, Cassie Walder, the city’s communication manager, told the council. Since the website’s upgrade in 2021, there has been measurable improvement in user traffic, primarily due to improved navigation and visibility, she said. In 2022, the city’s website had more than 900,000 unique…
Read the full article here
