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clients on social media, though there may be plans underway soon to establish social media
sites for individual cities.
CAL FIRE creates its own Press Releases and distributes them via group email to a Media List of
approximately 35 individuals. The City will also post Fire-related Press Releases at
http://www.morganhill.ca.gov/1140/News .Between Dwight and CAL FIRE’s PIO, there is a
loose content calendar, but no single ‘Communications Plan’ document.
The Morgan Hill Fire Department has a good working relationship with the Unified School
District and will perform Fire Safety presentations and miniature tours at City schools. The
Department also has reliable contacts with community groups and individuals who use the
Nextdoor platform. The Department has the ability to broadcast messages on Nextdoor
through Maureen Tobin, and can also leverage large HOA admins to help send out
information. Whenever Maureen sees a relevant inquiry or comment in response to a Nextdoor
post from the Agency, she lets the Department know so they can plan out a reply.
Police Department
Most City Police Departments naturally have a high number of touch points within a
community as officers interact with residents (and vice-versa) on a daily basis to promote
public safety and improve the quality of life within the City. This also means using a wide range
of communication tools to engage with the public. During our on-site interviews, Tripepi Smith
met with: Chief David Swing, Admin Sergeant Ray Ramos, Captain Shane Palsgrove, Captain
Jerry Neumayer, and Sergeant Carson Thomas.
Notably, Captain Neumayer oversees Special Operations and the Department’s Public
Information Officers (PIOs), Sergeant Thomas is the acting PIO for the Department, and
Admin Sergeant Ray Ramos is the backup PIO. All Sergeants have received PIO training;
Captain Palsgrove and Captain Neumayer can also step in as PIO when needed. The PIO
position has multiple responsibilities, such as creating and distributing Press Releases,
addressing the media on-camera, distributing information directly to the public, and advising
the City teammates on how to communicate about crimes that have occurred.
The Department does not have a formal, long-term Communications plan or a defined content
calendar for its social media sites, so content planning typically happens on an ad hoc/week-to-
week basis. There are certain recurring events and holidays, such as the 4th of July, where the
Department does know in advance what its messaging will be. Sergeant Thomas and Admin
Sergeant Ramos handle media relations for the Department and currently have a list of
approximately 25 local and regional media contacts. The Department sent 35 Press Releases to
this media list from August 2015 to August 2016. Topics ranged from crime reports to
successful apprehension of suspects to general safety Public Service Announcements.
As part of a 2012 “Outcome-Based Strategic Plan for Public Safety,” the Department
emphasizes collecting feedback from the Morgan Hill community, offering a “Citizen's Police
Employee Commendation Form” on the City website as well as information on how to submit
complaints about Police service. Social media, a quarterly email newsletter, and Nixle alerts
also play large roles in maintaining a dialogue with the community.
The Department’s social media sites have, by far, the largest combined number of
Fans/Followers among official City social media sites. As of November 2016:
•
Facebook Page– 8,620 Likes/Fans; 3,721 of those Fans self-identify as Morgan Hill
residents on Facebook; 1,101 Gilroy residents; 991 San Jose residents