Cheyenne city staff and council members used a work session to review the city’s communications and engagement tools, the results of recent public surveys and several planned projects, including a rebrand and a potential website refresh.

The discussion focused on the city’s citywide platforms: the municipal website (Open Cities, now owned by Granicus), a new engagement platform called Connect Cheyenne, and the city’s social media accounts and media lists. Matt Murphy, communications staff in the mayor’s office, told the council that the city had just under 200,000 active website users in the past 12 months and that Facebook and Instagram are the city’s largest social audiences.

Murphy said Connect Cheyenne, a project-hosting and engagement platform run through Public Input, is under contract through September 2027 and has been paid for with American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds for the first two years. Asked about the subscription cost, Murphy said, “It’s around $20,000 a year.” He noted the city will need to identify funding for the platform after the ARPA-funded period ends.

The session covered recent uses of Connect Cheyenne and online surveys. Murphy said an online survey tied to a pool redesign generated 92 additional participants who could not attend an in-person open house, and that a community development block grant (CDBG) survey drew 112 participants. He also described features Connect Cheyenne can provide, including surveys, polls, Q&A, SMS/texting for subscribers, voice-to-text input and project-based newsletters.

Council members pressed staff on oversight and clarity for online engagement. Councilwoman Aldrich said she did not recall the Connect Cheyenne contract coming before council and asked whether the $20,000 annual cost had been authorized; Murphy responded that the platform had been paid from ARPA for the first two years and that continued funding would require follow-up. Aldrich also asked whether online surveys are limited to one response per email address; Murphy said staff try to limit responses to one email address or one IP address to reduce duplicate responses.

Council members discussed the rebranding work now under way. Murphy said the new branding will incorporate existing official elements — the city seal and the bison emblem defined in city code — while adding a set of graphic marks, templates and a brand voice guide. He said rollout is expected in the third quarter of the year, with a phased approach to implementation.

Several council members raised operational and staffing questions. Murphy and councilors noted the city’s communications staffing is smaller than peer cities; Murphy identified himself, Alexis Farkas in the police department and some marketing staff in CRE as the core communication resources. Council members suggested adding a digital communications specialist and discussed maintaining updated media-contact lists; Murphy said the city maintains both a local Cheyenne media list and a broader regional list that includes outlets such as Cowboy State Daily.

Council members also asked staff to pursue specific follow-ups the council raised during the session. Murphy agreed to provide contract details for the website platform and to look into clearer differentiation for Downtown Development Authority (DDA) surveys on Connect Cheyenne, to clean outdated entries from the media-contact lists, to explore creation of an email newsletter tied to Connect Cheyenne, and to examine earlier posting of agendas and clearer organization of meeting recordings on YouTube.

No formal motions or votes were taken during the work session; the meeting was a staff briefing and Q&A. Murphy and council members described several possible next steps — a formal communications plan, a phased website review, and consideration of additional communications staff — that will require further budget and policy decisions.

Murphy and council members emphasized the limits of local authority and existing constraints: the city uses Granicus/Open Cities for its website, some external platforms are separate services (for example, OpenGov), and some engagement and survey best practices depend on additional funding or operational changes. Council members repeatedly raised the challenge of reaching residents across fragmented media and demographic groups, especially older adults, and urged a proactive approach to ensure residents see critical notices and major policy information.