Annual Report 2012 - Town of Richmond Hill

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R I C H M O N D H I L L S T R A T E G I C P L A N A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 1 2 3. Communication Providing leadership and engaging the community are integrally linked to achieving our future vision. Both of these two key areas of focus, however, hinge on a third: focusing on communication. Effective communication means listening and responding to what we hear from the community. It also involves raising awareness for our various programs and services, and improving the reach of our messages throughout Richmond Hill and beyond. Our Corporate Communications Plan As a key area of focus in our Strategic Plan Implementation, communication warrants the development of a Corporate Communications Plan, which we initiated in February 2012. Following review of the Town’s current communication needs, tools and tactics, we anticipate that the plan will be completed in Fall 2012. Increasing Our Reach: Improving Communication with Social Media Social media has quickly become a popular form of communication around the world. Recognizing the opportunity for enhanced connection and community engagement, the Town has corporately adopted the use of social media and is developing a Social Media Policy & Procedures standard as well as a launch strategy for new corporate Facebook and Twitter accounts. These progressive initiatives are not the Town’s first use of social media. Over the past year, a number of projects and programs specifically used this medium to reach target audiences and enable two-way communication: Development of the Town’s Cultural Plan used social media channels, which are now also being used in support of developing our new Public Art Policy. As a recommendation of the Town’s new Economic Development Strategy, we have used Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Flickr to interact more effectively with the business community since Summer 2011. (Civic Precinct Project), which launched in January 2012, uses Facebook, Twitter and Flickr to provide information on upcoming events and to allow idea and photo sharing for a public space at Yonge Street and Major MacKenzie Drive. Richmond Hill Fire & Emergency Services now uses Facebook to promote the importance of fire safety and to complement the information provided through brochures and station tours. Some members of Council are also using social media to liaise with the community. Emerald Ash Borer Information Session Surfing the Web at Eyer Wideman Youth Centre 12
Raising Awareness Access Richmond Hill (ARH), our one-window contact centre, has continued expanding the services it provides to residents. Throughout 2011 and early 2012, ARH began providing services on behalf of the Planning & Regulatory Services Department including acceptance and processing of noise complaints, dog licenses, pool inspections and parking control. In addition to working with various Town departments, ARH staff are currently exploring a partnership with Service Canada to provide residents with federal services on a part-time basis. In the meantime, the Town now offers several online eServices and forms at RichmondHill.ca/eServices to provide residents with self-service to municipal services, programs and information. ARH is also offering extended hours to better serve the community at busy times of year, such as the peak tax season period at the end of February. The availability of digital media also means that our community will now have the opportunity to watch their municipal government in action. Beginning in 2012, Council and Committee meetings will be streamed on the Internet. In order to better communicate and share information with our community we have made additional enhancements to our website (www.richmondhill.ca) throughout the past year. Information now available online includes: Access Richmond Hill By-laws passed by Council & Committee and consolidated agendas. All budget information and Financial Services by-laws and policies. The new readable and clickable . Listening to Our Community In February 2012 residents began encountering a new presence at all public counters: Customer Feedback Card Boxes. These cards provide a consistent method of feedback for all services in the Town and are available in a number of formats to address our commitment to accessibility. These new feedback cards do not eliminate any existing feedback methods and are simply an additional means to evaluate our community’s customer service experience. 13
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Annual Report 2012 - Town of Richmond Hill

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