Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Community Engagement topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Council receives communications department update; 'Taylor on Foot' community walks, dashboards, ADA captioning highlighted
Summary
The council accepted a presentation from the communications department on a new 'Taylor on Foot' neighborhood outreach program, a capital improvements dashboard, development and survey tools, and plans to add closed captioning for council streams to meet ADA guidance. Council approved the update 4-0.
The Taylor City Council voted 4-0 to receive a status update from the city communications department that outlined new outreach programs, digital tools and accessibility plans.
Communications staff described a new initiative called “Taylor on Foot,” a quarterly door‑to‑door program modeled on Cedar Hill’s outreach that aims to “meet residents where they are” and to have multidisciplinary teams—including one council member, a police officer and departmental staff—visit about 50 homes in a two‑hour walk. The first walk is scheduled for May 17 in District 3.
“The first and biggest 1 is is a project known as Taylor on Foot,” communications staff said, summarizing the new outreach plan. Staff said the goal is to collect neighborhood concerns, connect residents with city services and community partners, and provide substantive follow‑up. Team leads will collect feedback and communications will route issues to appropriate staff; staff set a target of providing substantive responses or resolutions within 30 days when possible.
The presentation also introduced a capital improvements dashboard that lists major projects, timelines, funding sources and biweekly updates. Staff said the dashboard allows users to filter projects by type (streets, parks, drainage, facilities) and to sign up for email or text updates.
Other items discussed included a planned development dashboard that will show projects in the pipeline, expanded use of the city’s FlashVote survey tool for community input (including an upcoming sidewalks, trails and ADA transition plan survey), and a development video series to explain projects when “dirt turns” to reduce rumor and confusion.
Staff flagged U.S. Justice Department accessibility guidance and said the city will request budget funds to add closed captioning to council and other streamed meetings ahead of a 2027 deadline. “We’re actually going to be required, at the latest by 2027, to have closed captioning on these streams,” communications staff said; the department said it is exploring in‑house and vendor options, including real‑time captions for hearing‑impaired audience members.
Council members asked about translation for Spanish speakers and other language groups. Communications staff said Spanish captions and translations are part of the plan and noted preliminary discussions with Samsung for ad‑hoc Korean translation support.
A motion to receive the communications department project updates passed 4-0 after a second by Councilman Anderson.
Votes at a glance - Consent agenda (approval of minutes from the March 27, 2025 meeting): approved, 4-0. - Moody Museum advisory board update: received as presented, 4-0. - Task Order 63 (HDR Engineering design and bid for Fifth & Murphy waterline): approved, 4-0. - Communications department project updates: received as presented, 4-0.
