City Seeks Feedback On Communications Policy

If you would like to be heard and express your views regarding the City of Moose Jaw's Communications Policy you have until Wednesday July 24th at 11:59 pm to do so.

The comprehensive Communications Policy (the first in the City's history) is designed not only as a framework when it comes to dealing with media – an issue which has at times dominated the discussion – but also deals with how the City responds to its residents, social media, construction updates, internal communications as well as public engagement (how does the City get its resident’s opinions).

Moose Jaw City Hall - Photo Courtesy Roxanne Ashe - Virtual Interiors Photography

“The main emphasis is an effort to let our residents know the ways in which we can communicate with them, and how they can communicate with us,” City of Moose Jaw communication's director Craig Hemingway said.

Asked what the building blocks of the proposed policy Hemingway stated it was all about a freeflow of information between the City and others.

“We really wanted to answer the questions:

- If the City needs to pass a message to our residents, how can we ensure that message is received?

- If a resident has a question they need answered, what are the most efficient ways to provide that information?

- How can we engage residents to participate in mapping out our City’s future?”

A keystone of the proposed policy will be to respond to resident Inquiries and concerns within two business days of receiving them.

“The Policy does delve into many facets of what we want to accomplish, including Construction Communications, Public Engagement, how we use Social Media and the Policy also includes Customer Service guidelines, which were created and implemented by our City Manager in 2018,” Hemingway said.

Asked about many people expressing frustration in the past regarding their perceived treatment of unanswered concerns and questions to City Hall Hemingway pointed out the proposed policy updates include the two business day response guarantee.

“We have a Customer Service Policy which was implemented in 2018. We promise a response to your question within two business days. If it’s an issue that may take longer than that to find an answer, we will still respond within the two business day-timeframe and update the status of the request,” he said.

The proposed new policy is also influenced by technology and changes made internally by the City. One example is the City is moving away from a paper based recipe card tracking system to a computer based model.

“Technology helps in a few ways, from an electronic tracking system of citizen requests and/or questions, to the many digital platforms we have at our disposal to send messages.”

Asked about concerns once the proposed Communications Policy is adopted it will “set in stone” how the City interacts with residents without the ability to be dynamic and meeting changes in needs Hemingway said the policy will adapt and change as necessary.

“This will be a “living” document and will be regularly reviewed. The first review will be in six months. We fully expect that over time there will be refinements made based on our own experiences and suggestions from the community. Any changes would be made only after careful consideration and research,” he said.

For residents to be heard before the final draft is presented to Council for potential approval and implementation is important to the City.

Asked how important it was to have outside eyes and public feedback Hemingway responded “It’s very important. The Communications Policy is a guideline on the ways we inform and serve our community, so if the community has ideas on where we could improve we would love to hear them.”

Regarding potential obstacles the recent controversy the proposed Communications Policy ignited when it comes to media and who and who is not media Hemingway did not see any.

“I don’t think it’s anything we have to “overcome” – there will always be certain elements of any Policy or Bylaw that get more attention than others. If it raises awareness of the Policy in general, that’s not a bad thing. We encourage all residents to read the Policy and determine its intentions for themselves,” Hemingway stated.

The policy may be read at: https://moosejaw.ca/wp-content/uploads/CityMJCommunicationPolicy2019Revision.pdf?ts=1563701989333

To provide feedback on the proposed policy please email Craig Hemingway at chemingway@moosejaw.ca .