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Considerations 31 <br />City's best "cheerleaders." If the direction and the plans of the City are not <br />well understood by the populace, rumors and misinformation will result. We <br />recommend that Ramsey move to hire a communications professional in the <br />short term. This individual should be responsible for coordinating the look and <br />content of all official communications, as well as devising plans to increase the <br />amount of information going to residents about development and the changes <br />underway. <br />Council mentioned that they prefer to operate in an environment of "no <br />surprises." Citizens tend to want the same thing. Dollars spent on delivering <br />the message to neighborhoods and individual residents will be returned in the <br />form of fewer questions to address and fewer "fires" of misinformation to <br />extinguish. An added benefit will be the reinforcement of the "quality" <br />perception Ramsey residents have of current services. <br />A Coordinated Message <br />As the city of Ramsey proceeds to create its new identity, attention should be <br />given to the coordination of its message both in content and style. Many of the <br />elements -here are obvious: a uniform design and identity for all outgoing public <br />information, the use of the same logo and color scheme by all departments and <br />information that is coordinated to the mission and vision of the city. <br />In a fast -paced environment it is easy to overlook the need to keep all members <br />of the Council and staff "on the same page." This need stretches across the <br />entirety of the City's organization. As we have mentioned in other sections of <br />this report, a City's line employees have more frequent contact and greater <br />impact on residents than department heads and administrators combined. At its <br />base, the internal communication program should be geared to make sure these <br />employees understand what is going on and can act as the City's "ambassadors" <br />on the street. <br />Communications programs, by their nature, are time-consuming and complex. <br />The current Ramsey staff provides communication services to the best of its <br />ability, given the resources available. The consensus from our roundtable <br />discussion with city administrators was that it is important to start the <br />communications effort in advance of, not behind, the anticipated growth. <br />Governance and Structure As the city grows and the issues it faces become more numerous and complex, <br />it is important to make sure that the organizational structure and decision- <br />making processes keep pace. As mentioned in the report, the ability of the City <br />Council to address both administrative as well as legislative issues will become <br />increasingly difficult. By initiating discussions regarding the structure of he <br />administration, specifically the authority of the City Administrator, the City can <br />plan well in advance for these issues. <br />Setting forth a plan for change, if determined appropriate, will help focus the <br />inevitable political discussions that come with such matters. In addition, clarity <br />City of Ramsey — Organization Study and Review <br />