Snow Storm Communications

Communication is a wonderful thing.

If you remember, the City waited for more than a day last winter to fire up the plows when the snow began falling heavily. The delay caused crews to fall hopelessly behind, people began screaming and Mary Verner took five days before even addressing the issue publically.

Fast forward to this week: The record snow fall caused gridlock in Downtown, businesses closed and the city took on the eerie feeling that reminded me of when Mount St. Helens erupted. But while it’ll be extremely difficult to get around for the next several days and many schools and businesses are still locked up there’s not the public stress and outcry that we saw last year.

Why? Two things are different. First the City pulled the trigger early and threw everything it had at the storm. The second and most important difference is that Administration told us that it was on top of the situation and has kept us fully informed for the past two days. Almost hourly updates were posted on the City’s website which included plowing maps, weather reports cameras showing city streets. The Spokane Police Department used its RSS to push out information that was invaluable to everyone. And the Spokane Fire Department regularly updated its website to let us know where the biggest problems were.

With winter not even officially here yet we could see much more of this over the coming months. But as long as local governments continue to communicate and make progress on the problem residents will be supportive.

Now if we could only get Diamond Parking to let us know when its sidewalks will be shoveled…

Mayor Should Thank the Council

All those who agree that the Spokane City Council has just saved Mayor Mary Verner from a huge embarrassment raise their hands. Thought so.

The Mayor was pushing council members to put a $27 million bond issue on the November ballot to pay for a new police evidence locker and animal shelter. I recently suggested that Verner may have a good idea but that she needed to slow down, create a sound case and persuasive communication strategy before asking voters to spend that much money. Why? Her idea which popped up about two weeks ago needs 60% approval---she got less than half that from the City Council. Imagine what the voters would have done.

So now Verner must take advantage of the extra time to build her case which should include:

· Researching and deciding exactly what we need and why.
· Getting unanimous City Council support for her plan.
· Clear, consistent and compelling messages that resonate with voters.
· Creating a robust public outreach and media strategy.
· Finding the right team to run what is tantamount to a political campaign.

Council members seem to agree that we may need to spend millions of dollars on these proposals and have offered to work with the Mayor to prioritize what to build and how to pay for them. Verner needs to optimize this cooperative spirit and move forward as soon as possible. Otherwise, stalled momentum and growing opposition will team up to stop what might be necessary public benefits. Spokane has seen that too often---let’s not see it again.

Out of Thin Air

Folks ask me periodically whether I miss the news business. My answer is always the same---nope. Until now.

The looks on the Spokane City Council members’ faces would have make great TV last week when Mayor Mary Verner asked them to put a $41 million bond issue on the ballot to pay for several new public buildings. Can you imagine sitting there when Verner walked in, trailed by her staff, and out of the blue suggested to the Council that the City needs a new street department building, an animal shelter, a new police shooting range and evidence storage building? Would have been a hoot to watch were it not so sad that there was absolutely no preparation, groundwork, communication or public outreach prior to Verner dumping the issue into the Council’s lap.

We may actually need the new structures. Who knows? Certainly not the Council or the public at this point. Paving the way for capital projects generally takes time, effort, lots of information and political savvy. But instead of creating a well thought out, robust and persuasive case for new taxes that 60% of the voters might support Verner pulls this initiative out of thin air just a couple of weeks before the deadline to put it on the November ballot. That leaves little time for the Council to evaluate the need for the new buildings or determine if Verner’s numbers are right. And has any research been done to gauge whether voters have an appetite for a large tax increase to pay for things that only benefit city employees?

Persuading community leaders, decision makers and taxpayers to support large bond issues can be done. I was a consultant on last fall’s successful campaign to pass a $42 million bond issue for Spokane’s parks, pools and playgrounds. We worked hard, raised a lot of money and had a compelling argument for the tax increase. But dozens of people spent long hours evaluating the issue and laying the groundwork before asking the Council to put it on the ballot.

That didn’t happen here. I also suspect the Mayor has no plan to organize a campaign to push the issue if it gets on the ballot. But don’t worry---this won’t be the last time this administration forgets that communication is a key component to running a city. Which means I will also have more opportunities to miss being on TV.

Losing Control of the Debate

Big ideas are great---I love them. But most of the time they won’t go far unless the groundwork is properly laid. Here’s the latest example from Spokane’s City Hall: Water Use Restrictions.

Mayor Mary Verner says that folks ought to conserve water and among the better ways to do that is limit when people can sprinkle their lawns. Sounds reasonable when you consider all of the energy going toward preserving the aquifer and the Spokane River. But Spokane residents love their green lawns so any hint of watering restrictions creates more than just ripples across the pond.

Major policy initiatives such as water restrictions need a great deal of explanation, background information and good old-fashioned schmoozing in order to gain the necessary support among the voters as well as the decision makers---in this case the City Council. Critical audiences need to be identified, facts gathered, key messages developed and a robust PR and media plan created in order to mobilize support for tough issues. Moving forward without clear, concise and persuasive messages and strong reasons for making a change means running the risk of losing control of the debate---which has already happened. City Council members Bob Apple and Nancy McLaughlin have expressed their opposition and letters to the editor panning the idea have already been published. The only thing coming from the Mayor’s office is that the City will be exempt from watering restrictions.

Most people probably would not argue with Mayor Verner’s vision to conserve water; many would even support her idea to limit some water usage which makes this a winnable issue. But it’s going to take more than just good ideas, sincere beliefs and noble intentions to make it happen.

City Sustainabilty Effort Falls Short

Spokane Mayor Mary Verner has pretty much staked her administration’s entire reputation on the idea of sustainability. She has a director and a task force spending a $75,000 federal grant looking for ways to preserve our ecosystems and quality of life. My guess is that Verner is also using this to create an entire new bureaucracy---her legacy.

I see all of the City’s news releases so believe me when I say that more PR has been dumped into this effort than any of the Administration’s initiatives. Good idea as far as it goes but the Mayor may want to spend more time communicating her vision and expectations to city employees instead of pumping out news releases to a non-responsive local media.

Here’s what I mean: I wanted an adult beverage after finishing 18 at Indian Canyon recently when I saw the woman running the snack bar sitting on the deck puffing away on a cigarette. Strange, I thought smoking was forbidden within 25 feet of a door. I asked whether smoking was legal and she said “No, but we ignore the law so go ahead.” When I told her that I asked because I’m a non-smoker she indignantly sucked in another huge drag, blew it out through her nostrils and then flipped the butt over the railing toward the first tee. Classy.

But here’s the kicker. We finished our drinks and offered to put the empties into the recycling bin. “Doesn’t exist,” the same woman told us. “We don’t recycle here...we just toss ‘em.”

So much for sustainability.

These are only a couple of examples. But it seems that if this is how sustainability---and the law---are treated at the City’s premier golf course then it would be safe to assume that it’s being done with the Mayor’s blessing. If not then Verner has a problem.

Leaders can have the best intentions, excellent ideas, a ton of government money and public support. But unless they share their vision with the folks responsible for implementing the policy---employees---then the noble effort will be worth about what’s being spent on it. In this case $75,000 that will be gone by year’s end.