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Consultant advises Nelson council on improving city communications

Report recommends city make part-time communications person a full-time employee
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Communications consultant Jan Enns addressed city council — the current council, not the new one that has not yet been sworn in — on Oct. 22 about her report on city hall’s communications. Photo: City of Nelson council meeting online video

The City of Nelson should make its part-time communications employee a full-time staff member.

That’s according to consultant Jan Enns of Kelowna, who was hired by the city to advise council on how to communicate more effectively.

On Monday, Oct. 22, she presented her $11,000 report to council.

Enns interviewed 20 city staff members and three councillors but did not consult the public.

“This report is fairly one-sided,” councillor Anna Purcell said. “We did not ask the community how they want to be communicated with.”

Enns said going to the public could be a next step.

The report (attached below) lists several areas that need attention, including a lack of public awareness about city events and decisions.

“This is particularly noticeable with projects where there is a lengthy gap in the time between phases … or action on the ground (e.g. Downtown Urban Design Strategy),” the report says.

“There is a disconnect between the concept and plans and the action. People are unfamiliar with the background or source of a particular action, yet once explained, they get it.”

Enns praised some of the city’s recent communications efforts.

“The cannabis consultation, you did a fantastic job on that, and that was on top of everything else. As a city, you really pulled it off.”

The report contains several pages of recommendations, mostly in the realm of communication planning and internal city hall processes, such as developing templates and timelines for different kinds of news releases, and thinking strategically rather than reactively.

The report also recommends developing communications plans for crises and emergencies, aiming for brand consistency, planning communications strategies for big projects, providing social media training for staff, developing a message bank, and finding the most skilled communications person in a department rather than having the manager do it.



bill.metcalfe@nelsonstar.com

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Bill Metcalfe

About the Author: Bill Metcalfe

I have lived in Nelson since 1994 and worked as a reporter at the Nelson Star since 2015.
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