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Council signals mayor should be primary spokesperson, asks staff to draft guidance
Summary
Big Bear Lake councilors discussed press communications during emergencies and ordinary business; consensus favored designating the mayor as the primary spokesperson working with the public information officer, with fallback to mayor pro tem if necessary.
Big Bear Lake city councilors signaled Feb. 12 that the mayor should be the city’s primary spokesperson for official statements, and asked staff to draft clearer guidance on press communications.
Why it matters: Council members said inconsistent or uncoordinated comments to the media during recent emergencies — notably last winter’s heavy-snow event referenced in the meeting — produced mixed messages. Several council members and staff argued that designating a primary spokesperson will help city staff coordinate accurate, timelier information.
Council discussion: Chuck Melnick, Mayor, said the mayor is the logical first contact for official city statements but acknowledged that technical details should be provided by staff. Council member Putz said “the first person to come to is the mayor,” while other council members described the practical need to route many media requests through the city manager and the public information officer (PIO) during high-volume events.
Staff direction: The council asked staff to prepare revised language for the council policy manual (chapter cited in the meeting as Chapter 8, section 3) making the mayor the primary spokesperson; the draft will include an escalation or fallback plan that names the mayor pro tem to act when the mayor is unavailable or overburdened, and specifies coordination with the PIO.
Practical considerations: Councilors discussed the operational challenge of late-breaking broadcast deadlines and the need to balance elected officials’ right to speak personally with the city’s interest in consistent official messages. Several members said they would continue to respond to constituent inquiries but should route media requests about official policy through the mayor’s office and the PIO.
Next steps: Staff will return with proposed language for the council policy manual clarifying who speaks for the city in emergencies and on official matters and how staff and elected officials should coordinate on media requests. No formal policy change was adopted Feb. 12.
