The city of Redding has a story to tell and, for the next 12 months at least, it is going to use social media to tell it.
With a 4-1 vote, the Redding City Council directed city staff to seek proposals from public relations and marketing firms to develop a campaign to highlight civic accomplishments and initiatives through print, radio, TV, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and other media platforms.
Councilman Gary Cadd, who cast the dissenting vote, said he had concerns about using a private firm to disseminate city information through social media. “I see a liability. Social media can take off. If we keep it in-house, we would have a better handle on it,” Cadd said.
Councilman Brent Weaver, who brought up the idea last month, said a recent League of California Cities conference convinced him that social media can be a useful tool. In his own campaign, Weaver said he was impressed with social media’s reach.
“For a nominal fee, it’s an investment well spent … and it’s not just a pat on the back for the council and staff. I think we can do a better job of getting our story out,” Weaver said.
Weaver noted that the sizable crowd rallied in front of City Hall (most of whom were carrying signs denouncing the spread of heroin use in the community and calling for a city response) was organized by a Facebook user group known as Take Back Redding.
Deputy City Manager Greg Clark said his research indicated a consultant could be retained to develop a messaging program using both traditional and social media outlets at a cost of $1,000 to $2,000 a month. City Manager Kurt Starman added that the monthly expense would be shared between various departments and Redding Electric Utility.
Mayor Francie Sullivan said she supported the idea as a way to clear up confusion about city policies, programs and priorities. “What is difficult is when people don’t have accurate information,” she said. Some of the signs being carried in the Take Back Redding rally spoke to that confusion, she said.
“We need to do a better job of having the community understand” what steps the city has taken, she added.
“This is the way the newer generation communicates,” Councilwoman Kristen Schreder said. “Staff does a wonderful job already and this is a step toward doing an even better job.”
Councilwoman Missy McArthur cited the new Adopt-a-Block program as an example of a positive step that could benefit from some publicity on social media.
“You want good PR? Let’s clean our town up,” said Dale Ball, one of the organizers of Shasta Support Service, a volunteer group that participates in community cleanup events. Any positive messages on social media are negated when visitors spend hundreds of dollars to fish the Sacramento River, only to encounter “somebody doing their laundry or taking a dump,” Ball said.
Michael Roberts, another Shasta Support Service member, suggested the city could have an intern handle its social media program. “It is time consuming. You have to correct posts and defend yourself,” he said.
Weaver’s successful motion directs staff to issue a request for proposals with an expense cap of $2,000 a month. The program will be evaluated after 12 months.
In other action Tuesday, the council:
–Heard a report from Public Works Director Brian Crane on the city’s mandated water conservation efforts. Redding residents have done well to reduce their water use, he said, but the city has yet to meet the 36 percent reduction target set by the state.
Usage in June was 30.55 percent less than the same month in 2013; July was 31.7 percent and September was 23.9 percent. Cities and water districts that miss the 36-percent level by more than 5 percent receive a notice of violation, Crane said.
As a result, Redding received a notice for June and Crane expects one for September as well. Crane said Redding has difficulty complying with the state’s one-size-fits-all mandates. For example, he noted June had five days when the mercury hit 110 or higher, “and the rest of the state doesn’t experience that.”
September 2013 actually featured a couple of storms that dumped 1.3 inches of rain, whereas last month saddled the city with several 100-degree days that drove up water demand. “We’re still doing better than the rest of the states and I hope that counts for something,” Crane said.
Redding is currently under Stage 2 in its water conservation plan. Stage 2 calls for outdoor watering a maximum of three days a week and only between the hours of 9 p.m. and 7 a.m. Homes with even addresses can water on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday; odd numbered addresses have Sunday, Wednesday and Friday.
Customers in violation of these measures, after receiving a notice and a warning, will face an administrative fine of $50 per day or per violation. So far, the city has given 775 first notices, sent 21 certified letters and issued zero violations, Crane said.
–Voted 5-0 to amend an ordinance prohibiting sleeping in any park or plaza. A staff report by City Attorney Barry DeWalt said the anti-sleeping language is vague and “suffers from constitutional problems.”
In addition, the prohibition is already addressed in another ordinance that bars sleeping in vehicles during certain hours and unlawful camping, which is defined as “the placement on public or private property for the purpose of making a living accommodation, no matter how temporary, of tents, tarpaulins, temporary shelters, house trailers, motor vehicles or parts thereof, trailers, cooking facilities, cots, ground covers, bedding, hammocks, backpacks, sleeping bags and other equipment of a similar nature used to live temporarily in the outdoors.”
