The Nobel Prize winning playwright George Bernard Shaw famously said, “The single biggest problem with communication is the illusion that it has taken place.” I don’t know about you, but I have, on occasion, operated under this illusion, thereby creating discord in my happy home. It seems that just because I heard myself say it (sometimes with my inside voice), doesn’t mean that the intended receiver got the message.
When I think about the effort our Town makes to communicate with residents, i.e. you, I wonder if Mr. Shaw’s observation may apply to us as well. We have a robust website that is the envy of our neighbors. You can find us on Facebook. The Town newsletter can make its way to your inbox, and you can read about us here in the Leader. All our meetings are either broadcast live or available on demand. Yet our community survey tells us that 55% of you are less than satisfied with the effectiveness of these tools. Moreover, 70% are unhappy with the Town’s level of involvement in local decision making.
Why isn’t our message getting through? Maybe it’s because we have neither a message or a strategy for communicating with you and engaging you on the issues that are important to you. To my understanding, we need to have a dialogue about growth, transportation, traffic, our schools and the effect that our choices and policies will have on taxes. These topics are complex and interrelated. Effectively communicating about them necessitates a sustained dialogue aimed at building a shared understanding of the problems, challenges and opportunities that we face; building consensus for our best course of action.
Establishing and sustaining a dialogue with you on important issues can be achieved if we build a structure for determining what issues we should be discussed and how we should be connecting with you. To this end, the Communication Committee will draft a communications policy for consideration by the full council that provides a framework for how the Town Council and Town Staff communicate with the public. We will also develop and implement strategies to increase councilor visibility as well as council engagement in the community. We have and will be, working with Town management and staff to create and implement communications plans about the upcoming revaluation and budget process and other issues that are important to you.
I believe we have the tools and commitment to improve the lines of communication between you and your government. I hope you have noticed some evidence of this in recent weeks with respect to the revaluation and the schools. If you have ideas about other steps we can take, please let me know. You can call me at 207-303-4858 or email at dcushing@scarboroughmaine.org. I’d love to hear what you think.
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Scarborough Town Council.
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