1. CONNECT WITH YOUR
COMMUNITY BY ADVOCATING
PUBLIC WORKS
City of Palm Bay
Elia Twigg, P.E., Public Works Director
Heidi Lapin, Parks and Recreation Director
April 24, 2013

2. Introduction
• Why should you connect with your community?
• To bring awareness to our profession
• To be recognized for the services you provide
• To get funding for your Department
• Examples
• Police Department
• Fire Department

3. Introduction
What does Public Works Mean to a Citizen?
• Education
• How do you educate your community?
• How will they know who you are?
• How do you get citizens to advocate for you?

4. Introduction
What does Public Works Mean to a Citizen?
• Outreach
• How do we start spreading the word of what we do?
• Community Support
• How do we gain community support?
• How can the community support help Public Works?
• How do you gain Council/Commissioner support?
• How do you get funding for your Department?

5. Education
• Starts with telling people what you do
• Your kids
• Family
• Neighbors
• Friends
• Strangers

6. Education
Prepare a 30 Second Elevator Speech
• Use a Slogan or Phrase:
• Examples
• Because of Public Works…..
• Public Works is the backbone to the City/County……
• Police and Fire cannot be successful without us……
• First ones in and the last to leave (actually, we never leave)….24/7
• Public Works Professionals make the quality of life better…..

7. Education
Prepare a 30 Second Elevator Speech (Con’t)
• Use an Acronym and share with your staff
CUSTOMER
C – Construction
U – Underground Utilities/
Permitting
S – Stormwater Management
T – Traffic
O – Operations
M – Maintenance
E – Engineering
R - Roads
FIRST
F – Fleet Services
I – Inspections and Engineering
R – Roads
S – Stormwater
T – Traffic Operations

8. Education
• Use statistics or real life examples people can relate to:
• Examples
• Stormwater Utility for City of Palm Bay - $55 per year
• Equivalent to 1 Starbucks specialty coffee a month
• 8 fast food meals a year
• $1.05 per week
• Maintaining roads
• Analogous to changing the oil in your car

9. Education
• Train your community through Customer Service
• ALL Public Works Professionals are Customer Service
Representatives
• All Staff needs to be trained in Customer Service
• Train people to go to YOU
• Website
• Phone calls to City Manager’s Office or Legislative’s Office – train
people to call you!
• Social Media

10. Education
• Promote Your Department Every Chance you get!
• Document Successes
• Press Releases
• Median signs/Project signs
• Website, Social Media
• Public Meetings
• Staff Promotions
• Special Recognitions
• Videos
• Examples
• City of Rowlett – Why they were increasing utility bill
• Palm Bay Public Works – It’s our Job!

11. Education
• Public Works has a daily impact to everyone
• Have them realize Public Works is important to them daily
• Ask Citizens questions
• Examples
• How many times have you called 911?
• How many times have you had an emergency that required Police or
Fire?

12. Education
• Ask Citizens questions (Con’t)
• Examples
• How many times have you stopped at a stop sign?
• How many times have you flushed your toilet?
• How many times has stormwater gone down the storm drain and not in
your house?
• How often do you drive on a road?
• How often do you walk on a sidewalk?

13. Education
• Public Works Professionals are Emergency Responders
• Examples
• Stop sign was down and a Police Officer got into an accident on their
way to an emergency
• Wind storm knocked a tree on a collector roadway
• Pipe failed under a road and created a large hole
• Waterline was hit during construction
• Fire truck broke down on a way to a fire
• Mothers Day Fires in 2008 - Brush fire in woods and PW staff cut brush
down for fire truck through

14. Outreach
• Council Meetings
• Regularly attend Council Meetings
• Council will recognize you
• You will meet Community Leaders
• Provide an Annual update of your Department
• Highlight Promotions
• Highlight Successes
• Pat yourself on the back, Police and Fire do it well

15. Outreach
• Find Community Leaders and make personal
relationships with them
• The advocacy begins here
• Examples
• Frequent Council Meeting attendees
• Homeowner’s Association Presidents
• Frequent callers for service requests
• Meet with them personally (coffee shop, at their homes, in their
neighborhoods, etc.)

16. Outreach
• Schools
• Kids talk to their parents!
• Example – Odyssey Charter School Students
• Big Truck Day
• PW has big trucks – Kids play with construction equipment toys
• Career Day

17. Outreach
• Celebrate Public Works Week
• Do a Proclamation
• Public Works Day
• Show off what you do
• Activities for kids
• Examples
• Use survey metal detectors to find treasure
• Allow kids to climb in heavy equipment
• Display a real life traffic signal

18. Outreach
• Neighborhood/HOA Meetings
• Reach out to communities
• Do a presentation highlighting what you do
• Discuss a project in their area
• Be prepared for hecklers even for good projects
• Discuss your budget and how it affects them
• Chamber of Commerce
• Reach out to Businesses

19. Community Support
• It starts with:
• Educating People
• People need to know who you are
• People need to know what you do
• Doing the Public Outreach
• Host events
• Speak at neighborhood meetings

20. Community Support
• It starts with (con’t):
• Changing the mindset of the people
• Public Works IS an essential service, like Police and Fire
• Public Works is the backbone to a community
• What would happen without Public Works?

21. Community Support
• Build Trust
• DO WHAT YOU SAY YOU ARE GOING TO DO
• Follow-up with citizens
• Provide good Customer Service
• Use community leaders to your advantage
• Examples
• NEON Group in Palm Bay

22. Closing Questions
• How is funding dispersed in your Agency?
• Is funding allocated to road maintenance?
• How do you get Council Members or Commissioners to
support you?

23. QUESTIONS??