City council wants to communicate better with residents and the first thing it wants you to know is its message isn’t propaganda.
Council decided this week to look into hiring a writer to craft a monthly council message to be published in paid advertising space in a local newspaper.
The decision was one of several aimed at improving communication with residents and council is already fending off criticisms that it will be spending taxpayers’ money to spread propaganda.
“It’s to let people know, generically, what council is up to,” explained Coun. Roger Lemieux. “This is not a personal propaganda thing.”
The paid advertising is intended as a way for council to express a unified message on a particular issue, Lemieux said. It could also be used to inform people what councillors learned while attending a conference, to congratulate city staff for doing a good job with snow removal or to clarify misinformation about a particular issue or decision, Lemieux said.
Council currently doesn’t have an outlet to get out its message, Lemieux said, other than writing letters to the editor, which he doesn’t feel are ethical for councillors.
“Normally, the only way we can communicate is if [reporters] phone us and ask us a particular question and we answer to the best of our ability,” he said.
None of the details of the new communication tool have been worked out yet, said Coun. Cathy Heron. That will require a meeting between mayor and councillors.
The cost of hiring the writer and buying ad space isn’t yet known but would likely be paid from council’s contingency fund, she said.
She emphasized the communication tool would take some time to take shape and council could drop it if it doesn’t pan out.
She thinks it will be a positive thing for council and the community.
“It’s not propaganda. It’s all public information,” she said. “There’s no political agendas that will be pushed forward for one of us.”
Mayor Nolan Crouse said council is making a conscious choice to pay for its space.
“That … was intended so it doesn’t come across as cheapo and just trying to leach off of the newspaper,” he said. “You folks have an obligation and a responsibility to make money.”
He stressed the intent is to present a message that all of council endorses.
“The structure is going to be important so it represents a council view and not an individual view,” he said.
He said council is feeling its way through its identified priority to communicate better. This is a challenge in the age of social media, he said, but low voter turnouts are an indication that there’s a disconnect that governments have to bridge.
“What we hear often from the public is we want to hear from council members, councillors or council,” Crouse said. “We’re searching for all combinations of ways to communicate and this is just one of many.”
Coun. Cam MacKay was skeptical of the paid column. At Monday’s council meeting he said it would be difficult or impossible for a writer to form a cohesive message from council’s seven voices. He used the word propaganda when questioning the purpose of the advertisements and questioned whether the public would find value in them.
“I’m not sure this is going to get us the impact we’re looking for,” he said. “I have some real reservations about this. I don’t know if this is going to bring us any positive benefit whatsoever.”
