Belmont staff present five-year strategic communications plan; council praises outreach goals, no formal vote

Belmont's Communications and Community Affairs Officer presented an updated five‑year strategic communications plan to the City Council on June 24, describing recent accomplishments, near-term priorities and a roadmap for outreach from 2025 through 2030. Council members praised the plan, asked questions about staffing and website improvements, and provided suggested edits; the item was presented for information and no formal council vote was taken.

The presenter, identified as Elizabeth, told the council the plan is intended to "help us communicate more effectively, reach more people, and build trust with our community." She summarized recent work including the internal communications intranet, launch of the 311/myBelmont app, and targeted emergency pages. Staff said the city has roughly 58,000 email subscribers and reported strong email engagement; they also plan a refreshed city website to launch in early 2026 with improved search and accessibility features.

Staff described operational changes to make communications more consistent across departments: a decentralized interdepartmental communications team that meets monthly, a master content calendar to coordinate messages, expanded training for department staff, and measurable performance indicators — including impressions, website visits and campaign-specific outcomes tied to departmental goals. The presenter said the communications team has used the intranet more than 700 times and that the 311/myBelmont app has processed hundreds of service requests since launch.

Council members asked about resources and staffing. The presenter said communications is currently a "team of one" and that staff are pursuing volunteer, cross‑departmental and consultant support to handle peaks in workload; multiple council members encouraged building internal capacity so the program does not depend on a single person. Members also recommended adding clearer education about city finances and other "why" explanations for residents, and suggested highlighting arts and aesthetics in the Belmont brand materials.

Council members gave broad bipartisan praise for the plan: one thanked staff for the new multilingual and emergency communications work and cited live Spanish translation in a recent meeting as evidence of progress; another urged including more public-facing explanations of municipal finances. Staff said they will incorporate council feedback and return an updated draft.