The Danville Town Council is set to consider changes to the town's existing communications and outreach strategy at a study session Tuesday morning following a presentation on those changes and plans to implement them.

Town Manager Joe Calabrigo and public information officer Jenn Starnes will lead a presentation on plans for rolling out an updated strategy informed by recent discussions and reflections on the town's approach to communications and outreach goals following the departure of Starnes' predecessor, Nicola Shihab, last fall.

"In observing the existing outreach over the past four months and discussing goals, processes and results with staff at all levels, we have identified opportunities to strengthen our outreach effectiveness," Starnes wrote in a staff report prepared for the upcoming meeting. "We have also heard from members of the community and the Town Council about specific experiences with navigating the website, finding information on social media and receiving updates on Town projects and events."

In addition to taking changes at the town offices into account, Starnes said that they developed the updated strategy with a range of research on "best practices in government outreach strategy" with the goal of more closely connecting Danville residents with their local officials.

"The cornerstone of the updated outreach strategy is making it easy for the community to connect with the town," Starnes said.

The update is also informed by lessons learned from the 2017 marketing plan and branding guidelines established by the town, in order to "reflect what has been most successful and fruitful in (the) 2023 Outreach Strategy," Starnes said.

The new plan includes streamlining the town's social media accounts as well as establishing independent accounts for the Danville Police Department (DPD), plus independent logos for DPD and the Town Talks series, as well as a monthly email newsletter.

The Danville Town Council is set to meet at 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday (March 14). The agenda is available here.