Residents participate in a “drive-through” city council meeting, offering comments relayed by video, in a trial run conducted by the City of Riverside.
Cities Use Technology to Keep Constituents Informed and Engaged During Pandemic by Jill Oviatt When stay-at-home orders were issued in an effort to slow transmission of the coronavirus and physical meetings were put on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic, local government’s commitment to meeting community needs and conducting inclusive and transparent decisionmaking was stronger than ever.
Public Access Is a Top Priority for Cities Recognizing that city leaders had to navigate uncharted territory, Temecula City Clerk Randi Johl, a board member of both the League and Institute for Local Government, helped lead a webinar for several hundred local government officials
about best practices to ensure public access to city government in the midst of physical distancing. “We have to hear from and listen to everyone in our community — this includes the young and the young at heart, minorities, veterans, students, residents, businesses, and community members from all income and education levels,” said Johl.
Developing Innovative Communication Strategies and Methods City leaders throughout the state turned to technology and quickly put into place an array of virtual tools to keep residents informed and engaged.
As city council meetings transitioned to an online-only format, city leaders worked hard to ensure that local government remained accessible and residents were able to participate in the meetings, share their views, and ask questions. At a Montebello City Council meeting, some residents emailed comments that were read into the record, while others gave the city clerk their phone numbers in advance of the meeting and then received a phone call within a specific time period so they could speak directly to city council members during the meeting. In Riverside, the city tried to make the experience as close to the real thing as possible with “drive-through” comments, where
Jill Oviatt is director of communications and marketing for the League and can be reached at joviatt@cacities.org.
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League of California Cities
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