BOARD AGENDA MEMORANDUM
SUBJECT:
Title
Santa Clara Valley Water District Communications and Community Engagement Program Update.
End
RECOMMENDATION:
Recommendation
A. Receive update on the Santa Clara Valley Water District (District) Communications and Community Engagement Program;
B. Provide input on current and future challenges, goals and accomplishments since the last presentation to the Board; and
C. Accept staff report on Transparency Compliance Audit recommendations dealing with District-wide civic engagement plan.
Body
SUMMARY:
Since January 2012, staff has presented the Board with semi-annual updates on the District's Communications and Community Engagement Program. The last update was presented on September 13, 2016.
This update gives the Board an opportunity to receive further information and provide input on how staff can better enable them to act as a key linkage between the District and the community in order to accomplish Board Policy GP-3.1.
BACKGROUND
Per Ends Policy 1.2, the District's communications goal is to communicate the District's programs, projects and challenges to the community, effectively and transparently, in order to foster public engagement.
IMPROVEMENTS IN COORDINATION
Following the previous presentation to the Board, the District Communications and Community Engagement Program has been restructured. The unit is now under the direction of Chief of External Affairs, Rick Callender, who also oversees the District's Office of Government Relations. This joining of the two units under one manager has improved coordination between Communications and Government Relations.
The joining of Communications with Government Relations has resulted in the sharing of resources and employees, for instance, with Communications helping produce talking points when needed, and Government Relations providing more people to draw upon for emergency communications. That has been especially important during this winter, when heavy ra...
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