If you're looking for information about Bayside, there's no shortage of sources.
The village has a monthly Village Scene newsletter, twice-weekly email newsletters, and a presence on almost every social media site imaginable: Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn and Pinterest.
As you can tell, proactive public communication is a top priority for Bayside Village Manager Andy Pederson. For all of his efforts, he received the Transparent Public Communication award from the Public Policy Forum – the village's fourth PPF award.
Why so many outlets for communication? Pederson said he is able to reach new groups of village residents with each site that he posts to. Some people prefer Facebook, while others might prefer Facebook or email.
The more people receiving updates, the better, says Pederson. When people are kept in the loop about village happenings, he said, it creates more of a cooperative partnership between the village and the residents.
That means he and other staff members make an effort to be responsive to emails and social media posts – even on weekends.
"It creates a dialogue with the residents that probably wouldn't otherwise exist," he said. "We certainly don't have all the answers. There may be someone with an expertise in a specific area who may throw out a suggestion that we might use. We are always striving to be better, and when you have that open level of dialogue, we are able to work together to reach our strategic goals. That benefits everybody."
For example, when a Bayside Buzz e-newsletter mentioned that the village was falling behind its recycling goals for the year, one resident emailed Pederson with several ideas to boost recycling participation in the village.
One unique feature at Bayside is the "Report a Concern" feature. From either the phone or the website, residents are able to report potholes, damaged mailboxes and more.
Social media also lends itself to more timely communications than a typical monthly newsletter. During a period of severe weather, Pederson took to social media to alert residents that the village siren wasn't working – and that residents should check local media and weather radios for more reliable updates.
Pederson also said he makes an effort to craft engaging e-newsletter headlines that bait reader's curiosity. Instead of a subject line that says "Bayside Buzz" - he will often include a riddle or a clever phrase. As a result, the Bayside Buzz is read twice as often as the industry average.
In addition to informing residents, proactive public communication also leads to a more efficient local government – like a police officer using the "Report a Concern" function to notify public works crews about a squad that needs an oil change. Technology also gives Pederson solid data on what services are important to village residents.
Pederson said that efficiency is part of the reason why village taxes haven't increased more than one percent since 2009.
"There's a lot of ways we can utilize technology to make us more efficient – and we're doing that," he said.
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