Communication Committee Wants To "Brand" Lafayette
By Sophie Braccini
How Lafayette residents get information about local issues and city government (Source: Communications Committee Report)
Lafayette's City Charter and Communication Committee was appointed to research and potentially draft a City Charter, and to improve communication between the City and its residents. On April 12th, the Committee presented its findings to the City Council regarding the current state of communication, made recommendations, and sought the Council's support to continue its work on improving communication.
A poll was conducted at the beginning of the year to find out how residents get their information about civic issues. The results were that 72% of residents get their information from newspapers, 28% by word of mouth, 20% through the City Newsletter, 8% online, 7% at community meetings, 7% at City Council meetings, 6% on television and 3% on the radio (some resident get information from more than one source). The Committee expressed concerned that so many people get their information from newspapers because these sources of information are not controlled by the City, and can only provide a fraction of the information that the City has available and would like to convey.
The Committee recommended that the internet be more actively used by the City and that its website be redesigned to function as a portal, tying relevant community websites such as City Government, Chamber of Commerce and School Districts, together. It presented the example of Montrose, Colorado (www.cityofmontrose.org). The site links different organizations of interest to the community such as recreation, county, economic development, etc. The Committee highlighted the ease of navigation, and the consistency of the graphic that creates the "branding" of Montrose. Committee members defined branding as a graphic brand that is used consistently, and can be immediately identified by viewers.
Council Member Carl Anduri agreed that this was a good idea, "You are also getting to the heart of Lafayette," he said. "We want the people to be proud of their city for a variety of reasons," added Council Member Don Tatzin.
The Committee's Charter City task now complete, the Council approved a minor restructuring of the Committee and asked it to continue its volunteer effort to further investigate the concepts of community branding and a community website.
A poll was conducted at the beginning of the year to find out how residents get their information about civic issues. The results were that 72% of residents get their information from newspapers, 28% by word of mouth, 20% through the City Newsletter, 8% online, 7% at community meetings, 7% at City Council meetings, 6% on television and 3% on the radio (some resident get information from more than one source). The Committee expressed concerned that so many people get their information from newspapers because these sources of information are not controlled by the City, and can only provide a fraction of the information that the City has available and would like to convey.
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