Agenda - 10-15-2013 - 5a - Laserfiche WebLink

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14 1 Commissioner Gordon said she wanted to start on the first page and discuss the 2 overall issues. She referenced the original Strategic Communications Plan from 1999 3 which was on the blue sheets. She said that if you compare the wording of the abstract 4 outline with the wording of the plan that is on the blue sheets, you will see a difference 5 with respect to the role of the Board. She quoted two sections on the first page of the 6 original plan to give examples of this difference. First, she read that the purpose was "to 7 promote more effective communication between and among the County Commissioners 8 and the citizens." Second, she read "staff will develop for Board approval a single, 9 unified style for all County communications efforts to establish the County's "identity" in 10 communication vehicles." She said a major difference is whether the Board of County 11 Commissioners is even referenced in the outline as compared with the references 12 concerning the Board's role stated in the 1999 plan. She feels that the Board of County 13 Commissioner's oversight has been eliminated in the outline proposed by Carla Banks. 14 Commissioner Gordon said the Board of County Commissioners would have 15 approval for the overall communications vision in the original plan; and in this new plan 16 the Board of County Commissioners is almost invisible. She referred to the pink sheets 17 with the minutes from the May 21st meeting, and said that the Commissioners requested 18 a say in the branding, the logo and other areas. She feels this is a strategic piece that is 19 different from the staff proposal and it is important to clarify the role of the Board. 20 Carla Banks said she thought she was proposing a County- wide plan, rather 21 than a plan that was focused specifically on the Board of County Commissioners. 22 Commissioner Gordon said this is County-wide plan, but she does not see a role 23 for the Board of County Commissioners in this proposed outline. 24 Commissioner McKee said his view of the role of the Board of County 25 Commissioners, both as a whole and individual, is to provide policy and direction, not to 26 be intimately involved in the design of a logo or choice of a media outlet. He does not 27 feel comfortable discussing Board oversight of any department. He said it is easy to 28 then move into micro-management. He said he is not being critical of Commissioner 29 Gordon, but he is just trying to understand her position of their role. He sees his role as 30 policy and oversight. 31 Commissioner Gordon said she is talking about how the County communicates 32 its brand and image in efforts to reach out to citizens. She said the details are technical 33 and she is not talking about managing a department. She is talking about the Board of 34 County Commissioners having some type of role, and in this new plan the Board does 35 not seem to have a role. She said that the Board is responsible for how their image is 36 projected. 37 Commissioner Pelissier said she does not understand what Commissioner 38 Gordon wants. She said her impression is that the Board has had a role, because the 39 Board decided to hire a Public Affairs Officer that was not a Commissioner directed 40 position. She said the Board is having involvement by being allowed to review the plan. 41 She said this is similar to the Board of Health. She trusts the experts in all of the 42 departments. She said that having an overall goal of increased transparency, 43 knowledge of services, and making services readily accessible are the goals of the 44 Board. She said staff takes care of it beyond that. 45 Commissioner Rich said she is in between the two viewpoints. She said she 46 does think you hire someone to do a job, and you don't tell them what to do on a daily 47 basis; however she feels that when you start creating websites and re-branding, the 48 elected officials should be part of those decisions about how image is projected. She 49 said maybe the Board does want to be involved in media interviews. She said there are 50 places where the Board of County Commissioners needs to be involved and some 51 where they do not. She feels the Board should have a say in branding. 52 Commissioner Price said the Board of County Commissioners needs to have 53 some review and approval of branding and logo. She said the press releases are