Communications Director Kayla Arnold told the Westfield Common Council on Aug. 25 that the city’s communications office has expanded its digital services, added an AI chatbot and is preparing documents to meet new U.S. Department of Justice web accessibility requirements due April 2026. “We manage the city's social media accounts. We produce a weekly e-newsletter...we manage the city website,” Arnold said.

Arnold said the city’s weekly e-newsletter subscriber list grew from just over 3,200 in January 2024 to about 6,300 in July 2025 — an increase she described as roughly 89 percent — and that the newsletter has “a 60% plus open rate.” She said the city’s combined social followership rose from about 27,000 in January 2025 to about 33,600 in July 2025. “We also welcomed more than 166 new residents through our new resident program,” she added.

The department introduced an AI chatbot on the city website this month through a vendor called Polymorphic. Arnold said the chatbot “pulls just from our website” and is still in beta: “You can go to our website, ask it a question,” she said, citing examples such as bulk trash days and vacation checks.

Arnold described several program initiatives the department runs or supports, including a quarterly HOA meeting series, a newly codified Mayor’s Youth Council of 15 students, monthly videos and a quarterly printed publication called Advancing Westfield. She said the communications team coordinates media interviews, applies for awards and grants on the city’s behalf and produces advertising and special-event messaging.

On recent events and earned media, Arnold reported that more than 60,000 people attended the Live Golf tournament held in Westfield and that the city’s 30-day advertising-value-equivalency (AVE) measure for phrases tied to the event exceeded $57 million. She said the city’s communications budget is “under a million dollars.” Arnold said the city is working with Hamilton County Tourism and Hamilton County Sports Authority on a full economic-impact report that will use geo-fenced data from a vendor called Placer AI; she said the report will take roughly 30 days to compile.

Arnold also said the communications team is working with legal, informatics and the Clerk-Treasurer’s office to archive and reformat documents so they meet DOJ accessibility rules by April 2026. She noted print and internal communications work, internship plans for 2026 and targeted outreach that included English- and Spanish-language campaigns for a special census response drive.

Council members praised the department’s transparency and outreach work during the public presentation. Mayor and councilors thanked Arnold and her staff for handling media during high-profile events and for the reported metrics. Councilor Tim (presiding) and others encouraged continued reporting back to the council.

The presentation concluded with an invitation to councilors and the public to continue monitoring forthcoming accessibility updates, the economic-impact report for Live Golf and a youth-council budget request expected for the 2026 budget cycle.