City of Sparks

Turning City Complexity into Clarity 

Clear communication starts with transparency. As our community grows, residents need to understand not only what the city is doing, but why we’re doing it and how it affects them. That’s something I’m passionate about.

City government can be complicated. Budgets, infrastructure projects and performance data often come with a lot of technical information. Our job is to take that information and make it understandable and useful to the people we serve. We focus on plain language, providing context and making information easy to find.

We also recognize that people get their information in different ways, so we use multiple tools to reach them. Our website and social media channels, our My Sparks app, Nextdoor and traditional media releases all help us connect with residents. We’ve also developed tools that make complex information easier to understand, including our Budget in Brief and our new Performance Portal, which gives residents a straightforward look at how the City is performing across several service areas.

Ultimately, good public communication is about accessibility and trust. We want residents to be able to find information, understand it and see how their city government is working for them. 

Bringing Residents into the Conversation Early

Transparency is about giving residents a clear picture of where we are today and where we may be headed. That means sharing information early, explaining the challenges we face and giving people the context they need to understand the decisions their city leaders are making.

We livestream our public meetings and budget workshops and we’ve expanded access to City data through our Performance Portal. I also make it a priority to speak directly with various community groups about our budget, how local government is funded and where those dollars go. That includes explaining revenue sources such as consolidated tax and property tax, our expenditures and the cost of delivering core services.

It’s equally important to be upfront about what we’re considering for the future. We’ve talked openly about issues such as regional approaches to fire service and public safety dispatch, sewer capacity reallocation and the need to reinvest in aging infrastructure. Even when an idea is still being evaluated, I believe residents benefit from understanding the challenges and options we’re looking at.

We reinforce those conversations across all of our communication channels, including videos, social media, media releases, our website and other community platforms. The goal is consistency: residents should hear the same clear information whether they attend a meeting, watch a video or read about an issue online. Transparency builds trust and that trust is especially important when communities are facing difficult decisions.  

Telling the Full Story behind Difficult Decisions

Building trust starts with being upfront, providing context and explaining the “why” behind difficult decisions. Residents may not always agree with a decision, but they should at least understand how and why it was made. 

A few years ago, our city was facing a significant budget crisis. We had to make some very difficult decisions, including laying off employees, making substantial budget cuts and reevaluating how we provide services to our community. Those were tough conversations to have, but we were open with our residents about the financial challenges we were facing and the decisions we needed to make.

"Trust isn’t built with one announcement. It comes from communicating consistently, answering difficult questions and giving residents the full story."

That transparency became especially important when we later made the decision to move forward with building a new City Hall. On the surface, residents could understandably question how a city that had recently made significant budget cuts could invest in a major new facility. That meant we needed to tell the full story.

For decades, the City had been setting aside redevelopment funds for this type of investment. Those funds are restricted and can only be used within the redevelopment district for projects that benefit that area. They could not have been used to hire employees, restore positions or support our General Fund.

We used all of our communication platforms, videos, social media, our website, media outreach and direct conversations with the community to explain that distinction and provide the history behind the project. Rather than simply telling residents we were building a new City Hall, we wanted them to understand how we got there, how it was being funded and why that funding could not be used to address our General Fund challenges.

Trust isn’t built with one announcement. It comes from communicating consistently, answering difficult questions and giving residents the full story, especially when that story is complicated.  

Putting a Face to City Services 

One of the biggest trends we’re seeing is that there is no longer one primary way to reach your community. Residents get their information from many different places: traditional media, social media, websites, apps, video and other digital platforms. As local governments, we have to keep up with how people consume information and meet them where they are.  

That also means finding new and engaging ways to tell the City’s story. We don’t want to communicate only when there’s a problem or a major announcement. We also want residents to see the work happening every day in their community.

Recently, we launched a video series called “What’s Happening Here,” building on our longtime city hashtag, #ItsHappeningHere. The series takes residents into the field with our Public Works and Parks maintenance crews and highlights the work they do every day maintaining streets and parks, caring for public spaces and providing the services our residents rely on. 

It accomplishes a couple of things. It puts a face to the people behind the scenes who keep our city running and highlights the great work they do every day for our community. It also gives residents a better understanding of the services their city provides and how their tax dollars are being put to work.

This more personal and visual approach to communication will continue to grow. People want information that is easy to access and understand, but they also want to see the people behind their local government. Our job is to continue adapting while making sure the information we provide remains accurate, transparent and useful. 

Leading by Listening and Serving

Be approachable and be willing to listen. Some of the best ideas come from the people around you, your employees and the community you serve. As a leader, you don’t have to have all the answers. You need to trust your team, trust your community and create an environment where people feel comfortable bringing forward ideas and different perspectives.

I also think it’s important to be open to change. The ways people want to engage with their local government continues to evolve and we have to evolve too. Be willing to try new ways of reaching people, listen to what works and what doesn’t and adjust along the way.

At the end of the day, public-sector leadership is about service. Stay connected to your community, surround yourself with good people and never lose sight of who you’re working for.