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Regular-General Government # 31.
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| Board of Supervisors |
County Administrator |
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| Subject |
Receive and file Public Noticing & Outreach Guidelines & Best Practices and provide additional input. (No general fund impact) (Blacklock/Gabor) |
| Recommended Action |
| Receive and file Public Noticing & Outreach Guidelines & Best Practices and provide additional input. |
| Strategic Plan Goal(s) |
Advance innovation
Champion job creation and economic opportunities
Collaborate to maximize success
Enhance and sustain the safety net
Preserve and ensure safe and crime free communities
Preserve and support agriculture
Protect open space and the environment
Provide fiscally sound, dynamic and responsive services |
| Reason for Recommended Action/Background |
The attached guidelines and best practices related to public noticing and outreach were created as a resource for departments in their efforts to increase the public's understanding of County projects with the objective of clarifying misconceptions, reducing apprehensiveness and public opposition, facilitating positive media coverage, reducing project delays and improving public trust, public relations and public support.
Public notices are issued by government agencies or legislative bodies in certain rule making or lawmaking proceedings. It is a requirement in most jurisdictions in order to allow members of the public to make their opinions on proposals known before a rule or law is made.
Public outreach involves both the transfer of information and a means to gauge the success of the transfer. It begins at the onset of a project, continues through the close and should involve each individual on the project team. In addition, public outreach encompasses an array of activities through which information about Yolo County projects is shared with, and feedback obtained from stakeholders. In this context, stakeholders are those who believe they are most affected by a particular project. Hence, the group of relevant stakeholders (community) for a particular project will be somewhat self-defined based on the project specifics.
When done effectively, public outreach can be used to help identify the main values and concerns of a community as well as the perceived benefits of a proposed project. This understanding can help a project team to foster public acceptance by addressing the issues of relevance to a particular community. However, it should be noted that public outreach, even when done well, does not guarantee public acceptance of a given project.
The concept of public outreach involves significant efforts to understand, anticipate and address public perceptions and concerns in a community being considered for a project. Ideally, public outreach can lead to a mutually beneficial outcome where project developers move ahead with the support of well-informed stakeholders who are comfortable with the project benefits and potential risks, and who trust the County and the project team.
In the absence of a concerted outreach effort, research and experience suggest that community members will form their opinions that may not reflect the merit of the project. Public opinions may be influenced by inaccurate perceptions of project risks or benefits; by whether the project is viewed as consistent with the community’s long-term goals; by social factors, such as the degree of trust placed in the project team, the County and other government agencies; and by the perceived equity in the process for developing a project. Media coverage, word-of-mouth and information sources, such as blogs and social media, often influence how individuals form opinions. Perceptions that may seem exaggerated from a technical point of view must be taken seriously. Perceived risks are no less “real” for purposes of implementing a public outreach program. If these concerns are not addressed by the County and project developers, they can rapidly transform into public opposition. |
| Other Agency Involvement |
Many tools and examples in the Public Noticing & Outreach Toolbox component were contributed by Assistant Planning Director David Morrison, as well as Health Director Jill Cook. A brainstorming session was held with the following line staff who also contributed to the toolbox and the overall guidelines:
- Jennifer Santos, General Services Parks Division
- Stephanie Cormier, Planning & Public Works
- Mashan Wolfer, Sheriff-Coroner
- Marc Marquez, Employment & Social Services
- Laura Smith, Library, Arther F. Turner Community West Sacramento Branch
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Explanation (Expenditure and/or Revenue) |
| Further explanation as needed: |
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