After a presentation by Councilman Kennedy at the March 17th Council Meeting, Council members approved posting the “City of Coeur d’Alene Today” blog on the city’s website. The community is invited to visit this new communication tool Wednesday, March 25th, at www.cdaid.org. Just go to the main page, look for “New” and “City of Coeur d’Alene Today” and click.Why did the city decide to launch a blog? Citizens need information and elected officials need to be responsive to that need. With newspapers downsizing and closing around the country, it’s important for the city to communicate directly to the citizenry as much and as often as possible.
Although several city departments have public information officers, the city doesn’t have one person solely dedicated to that function, so last fall, the Public Information Enhancement (PIE) Committee was formed to focus on getting more information to citizens directly and accurately. After reviewing communications vehicles already used by the city – CdA Channel 19, newspaper and other print media, television and radio – the question was asked – the committee sought ways to improve communications without adding the cost of additional staff.
One of the ideas was to enhance the website by adding a “Blog” for more immediacy. What is a Blog? It combines the words “Web” for Worldwide Web, and “Log” for a running journal, into BLOG. A Blog is different things to different people, but in this context, by and large, it’s a way to self-publish information and connect people to resources they need and want.
The City of Coeur d’Alene will use the blog to post routine information such as hearing schedules, bid reports, community events, and links to more information on timely topics. In emergency situations, the blog will be used to inform citizens about snow events/closures, Amber Alerts, and Police updates. The blog will include links to emails and phone numbers for staff, council members, and relevant city volunteers. Furthermore, rather than replace the city’s website, the blog will augment it with a link on the home page and links back to information and communications.
“Cities need to be responsive and creative in communicating with citizens and taxpayers. We’re hoping that this new city blog will give more access to diverse and detailed information to help citizens research the facts on what’s going on in their city,” said Councilman Mike Kennedy. "We’re excited to be able to give clear and straight information, unfiltered, directly to our constituents,” Kennedy concluded.
