The City of Revelstoke is restructuring how it releases information to the public following a Tuesday, Oct. 28 meeting where council adopted a new Public Notice Bylaw.
The bylaw update now requires public notice to be published on the City of Revelstoke website and through the City of Revelstoke email subscription service, a change that removes the legislative requirement to publish in newspapers.
“We’re trying to get more and more efficient with our communications,” Francesca Williams, City of Revelstoke communications coordinator explained, adding the shift to in-house notifications will reduce lengthy collaborations with outside publications, streamline staff workloads and free up publishing budget for larger projects.
“With that extra budget, when it is something like a big public hearing we can go harder with the promotions,” Williams said.
Williams says she hopes using print and radio advertising for high level notices reduces “notice fatigue” as well.
“We are able to draw more attention to the projects that will have a larger community impact.”
Where to find Revelstoke public notices
Staff will publish public notices on the City of Revelstoke website which will directly send a notification to subscribers through email or text message. This new method takes advantage of the notification system already built into the city website, currently used for alerts and news releases.
Physical copies of the public notices will also be posted on the City Hall notice board, located inside the Mackenzie Avenue entrance.
In the coming weeks, the city will launch a campaign advertising the notification subscription service on its social media channels, in the City Views e-newsletter and in the local newspapers. Banners about the new public notice location will also be on the City of Revelstoke homepage.
The location and sign-up for the public notices alerts might not be accessible or intuitive for all residents, Williams acknowledged. Staff are working to partner with organizations in town to help bridge those gaps.
Whether it’s future coffee socials through the Revelstoke Senior Centre or booths at local events, Williams is brainstorming ways to ensure a majority of Revelstoke knows about the new public notice system.
Staff are open to feedback as the new notification system rolls out and Williams encourages residents to reach out with any questions, issues or ideas.
“Communication is listening just as much as it is speaking, and we need people talking to us to be able to listen,” she said, adding oftentimes multiple people will have the same issue but only one might reach out for staff help.
Depending on staff capacity, council request and potential impact, additional public notice publishing will use Revelstoke Review, Stoke FM, social media posts and other communication streams.
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