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baseline understanding of issues outside their department. • There is a strong desire for additional communication in languages other than English. • The San Leandro Times is considered the primary non-City source of important community news. • The City Manager’s monthly e-newsletter is recognized as a beneficial new tool to inform staff about programs, issues, and initiatives throughout the City. • City Manager’s Office communication is generally perceived as improving. • There is a strong recognition that public information/communications staff levels are insufficient for a city as large as San Leandro. Current staff is doing an exemplary job but is stretched very thin. • Social media is not being used as effectively as possible due to lack of staffing. • Councilmembers desire clarification of their roles during a crisis and a deeper understanding of the Incident Command System and other components of emergency response. • Communication should be improved with residents of multi-family properties (primarily renters). • Strong desire for honesty in communication, indicating the difficulties faced by the City when managing tough issues. • Staff would benefit from a streamlined system for press release distribution, social media posts, media pitches, etc. • A cross-department communications team would allow current staff with communication responsibilities to work more efficiently and coordinate messaging, etc. • Staff in the field would benefit from an internal communications strategy that is not solely designed for those who work at desks or in offices. San Leandro Community Survey Summary • There were a total of 211 respondents, with many offering commentary in the open-ended questions. • More than 2/3 of respondents believe they receive information about important community issues in a timely, easy-to-understand manner. • Respondents were fairly evenly divided regarding whether they believe they have access to or receive sufficient information about City services. • About 3/4 of respondents somewhat agree that the City makes a strong effort to inform them about its programs, services and issues; that they have a good understanding of how important community issues are discussed and decided by the City; and that they know where to get information about a specific City program, service or issue. • About 1/3 of respondents most often get information about City Council policy decisions from official City communications. Slightly fewer get that information from external sources such as TV, radio, newspapers, websites, social media, etc. Almost 1/4 of respondents indicate that they usually don’t hear about this information at all. • Most frequently used communications tools to receive information about City programs, services, and issues include the Internet in general (not just City website), San Leandro Times, City website, word-of-mouth, social media posts and City Manager’s monthly e-newsletter. • Almost 3/4 of respondents are aware of the AC Alert system, and a vast majority indicated a willingness to subscribe. • Specific additional communications tools mentioned as helpful included greater partnership with the school districts, additional use of multi-language communication, increased use of traditional tools such as flyers and continued use of the San Leandro Times. • Respondents were fairly evenly disbursed over a variety of San Leandro neighborhoods and unincorporated Alameda County. City of San Leandro – Strategic Communications Plan | 5