Never Fear

Many public agencies hesitate to get out and talk to their publics — failing to realize that the most harmful thing they can do is keep quiet.

For companies in the private sector, public relations is an accepted and essential function. A business may have a public relations representative or, if large enough, an entire department. A firm may also have outside public relations counsel. Customers don’t question that — it’s part of doing business.

And yet, in municipal agencies, public relations is often considered suspect. News media have been known to criticize initiatives to communicate about major projects — school building referendums, infrastructure rehabilitation programs, wastewater treatment plant construction — as exercises in propaganda or image polishing. It’s unfair, and yet it keeps some public entities from getting out and telling their story.

Another reason some public officials shrink from talking to their citizens is that they fear confrontation. Sometimes, when faced with paying for a major project, citizens respond first by getting angry. Meeting with angry people in public forums can be intimidating. One can only guess at how many worthwhile projects have been scrubbed or delayed because of failure to communicate well, or to communicate at all.

Asking the question

In Wisconsin, where I live, school districts and municipalities face state-imposed limits on annual tax levy increases. If they want to exceed the limit in a given year, they have to pass a referendum. School districts in particular struggle with the limits. Many reach the point where they must either cut programs or raise more revenue.

At that point, some go to referendum. Others don’t try — they want to avoid the backlash that goes with raising taxes. The success rate for referendums seems to range from about one-third to one-half. You can guess the success rate where no referendum is even put forward.

The irony is that when public entities forgo important projects in the name of keeping taxes down, they often do a disservice — shirking their responsibility and in the long run hurting the people they were trying to keep happy.

As long as a public entity is behaving responsibly, it has nothing to fear from people who are angry. Because if they’re angry, at least they are interested. And it’s not a long stretch to turn that interest into understanding, or even outright support. A time of public unrest can be a valuable teaching moment.

Out of the bunker

Communicating well depends in part on believing that most people are reasonable. That holds true even in this era of anti-tax fever. If it were not true, how would so many worthy but expensive projects go forward?

Just as consumers will pay top dollar for products and services they trust to deliver excellent value, taxpayers will support initiatives they perceive as being in their own or their families’ best interests.

The key to communicating about public projects is to do so openly and honestly. Here, public agencies are held to higher standards. You can’t get by with the kind of slick advertising that’s used to sell toothpaste or hamburgers. And you can’t peddle half-truths and distortions the way political campaigns do. That is as it should be.

Instead, lay out the facts — pros and cons alike. Expect tough questions, and be ready to give straight answers. Explain clearly why your project deserves support — and don’t be shy about it. Your confidence and conviction can help carry the day.

When we want the public’s blessing, we have to ask. The public has the right to say no. But we do the public a disservice if we fail to raise the question. Always remember what Abraham Lincoln said: “Public sentiment is everything. With public sentiment, nothing can fail. Without it, nothing can succeed.”



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