CSDA has been made aware by a number of member districts that some media outlets are now submitting Public Records Act requests for information regarding base salaries, benefits, board member compensation, loans, “perks” provided and other items. We felt it was important to advise our members so that you can begin preparing the information internally should you receive such requests.

Further, some districts have already taken the extra step in transparency to post information online, such as salary ranges for positions, benefits offered and contracts. These districts are proactively demonstrating their openness to providing information to the public, media and others that may be interested.

Proactive transparency by local governments is an example of good policy that is also smart public relations. The ongoing scandal enveloping the City of Bell has deepened citizens’ cynicism toward government. The best way to show Bell is an anomaly rather than representative is for local governments to serve as their own watchdogs and embrace maximum transparency and interaction with residents.

Media coverage of local government is increasingly characterized by what I call “public records act journalism”: reporters submit wide-ranging PRAs to local agencies, then sift through the document trove in search of stories. Rather than wait their turn on the media chopping block and hope for the best, more local governments should emulate those cities and special districts that are prominently, proactively publishing the salary and compensation information on their websites. After all, it is public information that the public has a right to know, and putting it out voluntarily helps defuse public cynicism and suspicion — and decreases the likelihood of a city or special district becoming a media target.

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Veteran public affairs consultancy Pacific Strategies applies its strategic communications experience and emerging media expertise to help local governments develop and implement communications programs to enhance transparency and positive, interactive communications with constituents.

On Wednesday, Cunningham was part of a RightOnline panel in Sacramento, organized by Americans for Prosperity as part of a training seminar to teach activists how to harness emerging media tools like blogs, FaceBook and Twitter to advance their causes.

On Friday, Cunningham joined IHateTheMedia.com founder Jim DeYong and others to speak to the California Women’s Leadership Association about the impact of emerging media, and offer insights into how to interact with blogs and other emerging media actors on the political stage.

Cunningham is a regularly invited to address conferences, luncheons and other events on topics related to emerging media. If your organization is considering including an emerging media segment or element to a future conference or event, Cunningham is available to speak, or assist in planning the program.

In the not too distant past, deploying a new company website necessitated hiring a development firm and could entail a not insubstantial investment of resources. Today, an army of independent developers using open source  applications like WordPress are churning out hundreds of inexpensive templates in a variety of designs and styles, that can be quickly adapted to an organization’s use.

Whereas website re-designs were expensive and time-consuming, they can now be accomplished in a matter of days. For example, this design template cost the kingly sum of $75 (the lower our overhead, the better for clients!), and a developer customized it to our states in less than a week.

One more experience Pacific Strategies draws upon to assist clients in designing and implementing cost-effective public affairs strategies that achieve the desired results.