Canby staff to present communications plan; council folds youth and diversity engagement into implementation

Canby — The City Council signaled support for a near‑term communications plan that will fold together several engagement priorities the council set in previous years.

Communications staff told the council a draft communications plan will be presented for adoption soon; the plan includes recommended practices for outreach, a process for timely responses to public inquiries, and mechanisms for collecting community feedback. Councilors directed staff to adopt and implement that communications plan and to bring metrics for tracking outcomes.

Council members also agreed to merge several previously separated goals — a community survey, youth engagement strategy and programs to increase diversity in public participation — into the communications and engagement plan. Several councilors supported creating a youth position or a student seat on city boards and commissions; the council asked staff to include options and implementation details for that in the updated boards and commissions policies.

The council asked the communications plan to include practical, ongoing ways to collect community input (for example, integrating short surveys into existing events and digital outreach) rather than a single stand‑alone survey. Staff also discussed a proposal for occasional council open houses or pop‑up council meetings in community venues as a way to reach people who do not typically attend evening meetings.

Next steps: Communications staff will present a near‑final plan to council for adoption; staff will include an implementation timeline that incorporates youth engagement actions and updated policies for boards and commissions.