Title
Commissioners will receive an update regarding the Communications Ad Hoc Committee (Devin Stenhouse, M.A. II)
label
RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
It is recommended that commissioners receive an update regarding the Communications Ad Hoc Committee.
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BACKGROUND/DISCUSSION
At the October 20, 2025, commission meeting, commissioners approved the creation of a Communications Ad Hoc Committee with the goal of improving communication habits from the City to the public as well as opening avenues for the commissioners to receive information from the public. Commissioners Harrison, Rodriguez, and (now) Vice Chair Yee volunteered for this ad hoc committee. Committee members agreed to focus on three areas:
1. Compare/contrast the City of South San Francisco's website to other municipalities' websites to understand what features of the website are favorable and what can be improved.
2. How to leverage strong voices within the community that represent the various perspectives within the City (i.e., racial, religious, abilities, etc.).
3. Collect data/analytics that can shed more light on who is receiving information and how they are receiving information.
Committee members met with the City's communications manager who shared her drafted "Communications Support Packages" document, a framework to provide clear, scalable communications support based on the size, impact, and audience of a project or event. Committee members developed tactics to embed considerations around equity within this document. A summary of the recommended tactics was presented to the commission at the June 15, 2026 commission meeting without any suggested edits. Those tactics are as follows:
* Narrative & Visuals: Audit visuals for full diversity representation and portray underrepresented individuals in positive, stereotype-challenging roles.
* Accessibility: Use plain language (6th-8th grade level) and provide visuals or audio/video alternatives to ensure cognitive accessibility....
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