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SR-11-D (17) . - " CM:LCB:dvm City Council Meeting: Aug. II, 1987 IO/-(,(J3-lJt!-O / 11-1> AUG 1 1 1981 Santa Monica, California '. TO: Mayor and City Council FROM: city staff SUBJECT: Feasibility Studies of Electronic Communication options to Enhance citizen Participation and Service Delivery INTRODUCTION This report summarizes progress made by Staff in evaluating opportunities for enhanced communication with citizens through various electronic methods and recommends that Staff undertake feasibility studies, including citizen surveys, regarding three specific pilot projects. BACKGROUND Several month ago, the City Council expressed an interest in expanding means available to citizens to gain information as well as communicate with City Hall on a variety of subjects. As the City has quite an advanced computer and electronic mail network in place, the suggestion was made that expansion of automation capabilities would be a logical starting point. The attached report, prepared by Judi th Payne, a management consultant, details three specific areas for exploration: 1) On-line information and inquiry regarding various City services and activities. - 1 - captains to I~]) AUG 1 1 1987 2) Linking of selected Neighborhood Watch Block ~ facilitate timely sharing of information. 3) On-line access to and updating of the City's Human Resources Directory to assist in referrals by City staff and community service providers. Each of these projects would be initiated on a pilot basis after analysis of targetted surveys to fine-tune the approach and logistics. Evaluations would be completed after six to twelve months to determine future activities in each area. BUDGET/FINANCIAL IMPACT The costs necessary for the initial project stages proposed in this report are minimal and can be covered within existing appropriation authority. RECOMMENDATION It is recommended that staff be authorized to proceed with the feasibility studies for each of the three pilot projects and to implement practicable components of the projects as outlined in this report upon completion of the feasibility analysis. Prepared By: Lynne C. Barrette, Assistant City Manager Ken Phillips, Information Systems Director Attachment (elecom) - 2 - DRAFT Survey Letter 7/3l/87 JEP Dear The City of Santa Monica would like to know about your interest ln and opinion of using electronic communication between Santa Monica residents and the City to meet citizen needs The electronic communlcation could take two forms . Provid~ng citlzens with electronic access to various City documents and 1nformation, such as public hearing or meetlng schedules and agendas, City staff reports, and times and places of Clty services and programs. · Allowing cltlzens to send messages electronically to C~ty Hall and receive answers ln the same way. The Clty now uses such an electronic message system to facllitate communlcatlon among staff members. These two capabillties would provide cltizens with a new way to receive information from the Clty and ask questions, supplementing the current ways they can do this: by phone, conventional mall or personal visits. Many users of electronic commun~cation f~nd it conven~ent, because they can use It at any tlme day or night, not Just during buslness hours or when the person they want to communicate with is available To help the City assess the potential usefulness of such a service, please answer the quest~ons on the enclosed survey form and return ~t to the City in the self-addressed envelope Assume that Cltizens could use the service from their computers at horne, if they had them, or from computer termlnals at public places, such as libraries. Also, lf the Clty provlded such a servlce. it would provide adequate help to citlzens to learn how to use it. Thank you for your assistance. Slncerely, [Title] Enclosure Survey ~; DRAFT 8/6/87 SANTA MONICA ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATION SURVEY Answer these quest10ns assum~ng that you could use your own computer or terminal (with a modem) or a free term1nal 1n a public place, such as a llbrary, to do the followlng thlngs Also assume that the capabllities would be easy to learn (and the Clty would teach you) and easy to use 1 Would you or members of your household flnd it desirable to have the followIng lnformatlon avallable to you electronlcally and at your convenlence, lnstead of Vla telephone, convent1onal mall or V1Slts to C1ty Hall? (You would be able to make a paper copy of any lnformation you wanted to keep ) a Schedules, agendas, and mlnutes or City staff reports for publlc meetlngs, such as those of the Clty Councilor the Plannlng Commlss1on? Yes ____ Probably ____ Kot Sure ____ Probably Not ____ No b Informatlon on the avallabll1ty, tlmes and locatlons of City serVlces, such as 11brary, street maintenance or park servlces? Yes ____ Probably ~ot Sure ____ Probably ~ot ____ ~o c Informatlon on social serVlces 1n the communlty, such as serV1ces for the dlsabled, the homeless, youth and senlor cltlzens Yes ____ Probably ____ Not Sure ____ Probably Not ____ No d. Access to the Clty Library's collect1on catalogue? Yes ____ Probably ____ Not Sure ____ Probably ~ot ____ ~o 2. Would you or members of your household flnd It deslrable to be able to send questlons or comments to C1ty Hall In electronic messages? a Questlons or comments of any nature: Yes ____ Probably ____ Not Sure Probably Not ____ No b. Questlons or comments you could share electronlcally with other cltlzens as part of an electronlc "cltlzens forum" on publlC lssues Yes ____ Probably Kot Sure ____ Probably Kot ____ No 3 Do you have access to a personal computer or termlnal w~th WhlCh you could use the capabl11tles in questlons 1 and 2? Yes ____ No ____ I wlll have access withln 12 months 4 Does thlS computer or termlnal have a modem (the dev1ce requlred for communlcatlon between computers over phone 11nes)? Yes ~o I wll1 have access Wlthln l2 months. 5 Would you or members of your household fmd lt desnable 1:0 pay your Clty water bllls electronlcally? Yes Probably ~ot Sure Probably Not ____ No Please feel free to add any comments on the back of this form. Please return the completed form ln the enclosed, self addressed envelope USing Electronic Communication to Improve Citizen Participation and Service Delivery Introduction Based on a Clty Councll request at the December 9, 1986 Councll meet1ng to evaluate the potentlal for creatlng an eIectronlc commun1cat1on llnk between Clty Hall and lnterested cltlzens, the Clty staff collected luformatlon on any slillllar actlvltles In other cltles, the potentlal uses of electrolllc communlcatlon to enhance citlzen partlcipatloll and serVlce dellvery and how the Clty mlght explore these potential uses ThlS report summarlzes the results of the analysls, describes three pl10t projects to test the potent1aI of electrolllc commun1cation ln these areas and presents staff recommendatlons on how the C1ty should proceed wlth the three projects at dlfferent paces The flrst P1Iot project would 1ncrease cltlzen part1c1pat1on by allowlng a pl10t group of cltlzens to send and recelve electronlc messages from Clty Hall and electronlcally browse through varlOUS Clty agendas, documents and schedules The second project would lmprove the Clty'S crime preventlon serVlces by allo~lng a P1Iot group of partlclpants ln the City's Nelghborhood Watch Program to send and recelve electron1c messages wlth a representatlve of the Pollce Department and wlth each other The th1rd project would put the Clty'S Commun1ty Resource Dlrectory on-Ilne to facll1tate lnformat1on, referral and updatlng capabllltles for varlOUS serVlce provlders. All projects would restr1ct cltlzens' access to the Clty's electronlC message system, allowlllg citlzens to send and rece1ve messages only wlth a few deslgnated clty staff The pllot projects would also be closely coordlnated wlth related City aCtlVltles, lncludlng: l. The Clty Llbrary's new capabllltles now be1ng lmplemented to allow cltlzens to have electronlc access to lts collectlon lnformatlon system and commun1ty bullet1n board and 2. Plans to fur~her develop the Clty'S use of cable teleV1s1on capabi Ilt 1es The staff recommends conductlng a survey of cltlzen lnterest for the flrst two projects If sufflclent lnterest is shown, the staff recommends that detalled deslgn and lmplementatlon plans be developed for the cltlzen partlc1patlon plIot project (project #l) and tha~ the ~elghborhood ~atch plIot project (#2) be lmplemented accordlng to the plan descrlbed below. A more detalled deslgn and lmplementat10n plan lS needed for project #1, because thls project has far grea~er potentlal costs and rlsks. The ~hirp project w~ll proceed under the d~rect~on of the Communlty and Neighborhood Servlces D1V1Slon - 2 - The Pllot projects, lf lmplemented would be conducted for a set length of tlme (e.g., 6 to l2 months), would lnvolve a random selectlon of interested c1tlzens, would be closely monltored as they were conducted, and evaluated agalnst agreed upon crlterla to determlne thelr success and whether they should become permanent Clty serV1ces. Why Electronic CommUnication Interactive electron1c communicatlons has the potentlal to enhance c1tlzen part1c1pat10n and publlc serVlce dellvery, perhaps changlng fundamentally how c1t1zens are 1nvolved In local government and how publlC serVlces are provlded Many organlzatlons, publlc and private, are now worklng to flgure out how best to use thlS new and powerful medlum. They are explorlng ways to use the technology to meet thelr obJect1ves better and avold the use (and costs) of technology slmply for technology's sake Santa Monlca's Clty Councll and staff have a track record of uSlng electronlc communlcat1on to enhance communlcat1ons among themselves In fact, the C1ty 1S one of the leaders 1n local governments' use of th1S co~munlcatlons medlum natlonally Based on thlS experlence, the C1ty 1S In a better pos1tlon than most cltles to explore ways to use electron1c commUn1cat10ns to enhance dlrect serV1ce del1very to citlzens Experience In Other CIties Based on a reV1ew of professlonal publlcat1ons, on-Ilne querles to local government lnformatlon serVlces, and telephone lntervlews, we found that few cltles had begun uSlng electronlC communlcatlon -- uSlng cable televlslon or computers -- "lth cltlzens to lncrease cltlzen partlclpatlon and enhance serVlce dellvery The few clt1es that had, had not done so to the extent the C1ty 1S conslderlng For example, several clt1es and the1r llbrarles have automated thelr 1nformatlon and referral data bases wlth lnformatlon on publlC and communlty serV1ces, but we found no cltles WhlCh allowed cltlzens to send thelr unanswered quest10ns to Clty Hall electronlcally Slmllarly, a few clt1es, such as Columbus and Iowa Clty, have experlrnented wlth two-way cable teleV1s1on commU01cat1on methods, but the degree of 1nteract1ve communlcat1on between the cable prov1der and Vlewers was llmlted to dlscrete optlons deflned by the cable prov1ders (Columbus' two-way serVlce has been termlnated, Iowa C1ty'S method uSlng a one-way cable hook up and a c1tlzen's touch tone phone for keYlng In program chOices, 1S now on hold whJle defects are belng el1mlnated ) At the state and natlonal level, Hawaii (Televote), Canada (Talk~ng Back) and ~ew Zealand (Televote) have conducted slgnlf1cant plannlng processes w1th c1tlzens 1nvolv1ng televlslon, phone and wr1tten surveys and face-to-face groups, but not lnteractlve electronlc communlcatlon Ancorage and Kansas C1ty are the two cltles wlth the most relevant experlence for the C1ty of Santa ~onJca A few years ago, Ancorage ~ - 3 - offered electronlc access to C~ty real estate lnformatlon for realtors. The project was stopped after too few realtors were lnterested enough in such a serVlce to pay the requlred fee (The serVlce was provlded at a termlnal In Glty Hall.) Kansas Clty's publlC 1nformatlon offlcer set up a system to allow lnterested c1tlzens to access h1S mlcro computer electron1cally on even1ngs and weekends to search through llsts of publ1C lnformation and reVlew var10US publlc documents He reports that the system 15 popular ln the flrst four months, 1800 querles were made; ln the flrst year, 5500 The system only allows c1tlzens to search through Ilst5 and documents and down load them, lt does not permlt users to send questlons to the Clty electronlcally nor recelve replles to such. Hence, 1t provldes half the capabllitles contemplated In the Clty of Santa ~on1ca's pllot project to lncrease c1t1zen part1c1patlon Based on the 11m1ted eXperlence of other c1t1es In uSlng electronic commun1catlon w1th cltlzens to enhance clt1zen partlclpatlon and serV1ce dellvery, the Clty staff proposes to proceed carefully, trYlng out the use of electronlc communlcatlon flrst on a pllot basls to test lts effectlveness and efflc1ency and learn more about a range of unknowns, lncludlng techn1cal constralnts, prlvacy lssues, flnanClal conSlderatlonS and how best to manage such serVlce. Pilot Project #1: Improving Citizen PartIcipation With Electronic Commu n Icatlon The flrst pllot project lS to test the beneflts, costs and rlsks of an electronlc message system between the Clty and 1tS c1t1zens. The system wlll have two capabl11tles. . Clt1zens wlll be able to electronlcally browse through an electronlc bulletln board, perhaps uS1ng key words to search through lt or chooslng from menues and sub-menues by top~c. For example, they may be able to reVlew meet1ng schedules, agendas for publlc hearlngs and meetlngs, Clty staff reports, hours and locat10ns of varlOUS Clty serVlces. ThlS 1S called the query component of the Pllot proJect, because 1t allows Cl~lzens to make search through files, but not change them or communlcate. . Cltlzens wlII be able to send and recelVe electronlc messages from Clty Hall staff to exchange lnformatlon on topics of thelr cho1ce Thelr messages wlll be addressed to Clty pos1t1ons or functlons, not 1ndlVlduals (e g , to lithe Plannlng Department"). TIns lS called the interactlve component of the proJect, because 1t allows cltlzens to interactlvely commun1cate wlth the Clty If the project 15 lmplemented, a Clty staff member wlll be asslgned responslblllty for keeplng the on-llne lnformatlon up to date and - 4 - ensurlng that cltlzen lnqulrles are answered by knowledgeable staff In a tlmely manner Cltlzens wll1 be able to use the system from thelr homes, lf they have the proper mlcro computer equlpment or from deslgnated publlc places, such as the Clty'S I1brary branches The pllot project wll1 be planned and 1mplemented In conJUllctlon w1th the Clty'S new automated Ilbrary system, Wh1Ch wlll lnclude a bulletln board for cltlzens to use from thelr homes 1f they have mlcro computers ~oth modems. The library's bulletln board wll1 be uflatll, though, not allowing any searches by key words nor provldlng a hlerarchlcal menu structure to select topics and sub-tOP1CS The flrst essential step lU the Pllot project lS to conduct a cltlzen survey to assess luterest in such a project We propose to use the attached draft survey lnstrument In a random survey of Santa ~on1ca resldents (The form wlll be fluallzed after a Pllot test.) We wll1 report the results of the survey to the C1ty Couucl1 wlth recommendatlons as to whether or not the Clty should proceed w1th a detalled plan for lmplementlng the p1lot project Pilot ProJQct #2: Neighborhood Watch Electronic Message System The Pollee Department and the Informatlon Services Department propose to undertake a pllot project to test lf electronlc commun1catlon can enhance the Clty'S actlve Kelghborhood Watch Program The goal of the Pllot project 1S to 1ncrease the effect1veness of the Clty'S current program by lncreaslng the tlmellness and amount of commun1catlon among a Pllot group of nelghborhood watch capta1ns and between the captalns and the Clty'S nelghborhood watch coordlnator These departments wll1 manage thlS slx-month communlcatlons project as an experlment lU serV1ce dellvery to cltlzens to see lf lt results In. . Increased lnterest ~n and lnvolvement wlth crlme preventlon actlvltles by the ne~ghborhood watch captalns part1clpatlng and by thelr block group members. · Increased satlsfactlon wlth the C1ty'S ~elghborhood Watch Program Before commenclng the project, the Clty wlll conduct a survey of current nelghborhood watch captalns to assess thelr ~nterest ln such enhanced serVlce and the1r wlll1ngness to partlclpate If the C1ty flnds that most nelghborhood captalns do not antlclpate slgnlf1cant beneflts from such serVlce, the Pllot project wll1 not be conducted The Pllot project wlll lnvolve lO curren~ ne1ghborhood captalns, chosen based on the followlng crlterla. half will be currently actlve, half formerly active (to test how electronlc communlcat10n wlll affect both - 5 - types of block groups). they will be relat~vely close geographlcally so cornrnunicatlon among ~hernselves on common crlme lssues may be mos~ beneflclal; and they will represent both low and hlgh denslty areas (apartments. slugle farnlly hOUS1Ilg, mlxed houslng). The partlClpatlng captains wl11 be provlded wlth Clty-owned computer termlnals and modems in thelr homes for the project duratlon They wll1 he tralned to use electron~c messag~ng to communlcate wlth each other and the City1s Crlme Preventlon Supervlsor The coordlnator will use electronlC messaglng to proVlde the capt81ns wlth tlmely crlme lnformatlon, request lnformatlon from the captains and respond to ~helr requests The captalns may also use electronlC messaging to communlcate wlth each other, e g , to share ldeas or crlme lnformatlon among themselves or plan JOlnt crlme preventlon actlvltles The partlclpants wlll not be allowed to electronlcally communlcate dlrectly wlth other Clty staff or Clty Councll members Throughout the proJect, the Clty wll1 monltor the use of the electronlc communlcation capabllltles and the project's effect on the level of actlvlty of each block group represented by the partlclpatlng captalns. The Clty wlll not monltor the content of the messages sent, except those sent to the Glty Coordlnator. Why NeIghborhood Watch We have chosen to focus thlS experlment ln uSlng electronlc communlcatlon on the Kelghborhood Watch Program for four reasons 1 In the C~~y's 1983 Commun~ty ~eeds Assessmen~, 85 percent of resldents rated "safe streets" as a "very lmportant" communlty prlorlty, second only to a clean alr enVlronment. 2 In the same process, 73 percent of resldents felt that nelghborhood watch groups helped increase public safety 3 The Pollce Department reports that the decllned recently due ln large part to lnvolvement nelghborhood watch groups Clty'S crlme rates have lncreased communlty help stop CTlme 4 The Pollce Department 1S seeklng ways to lncrease awareness and the actlvltles of lts ~elghborhood Watch Program In order to lncrease the number of groups and sustaln the lnterest of current groups. Summary of Pilot Project DeSign The Clty staff has prepared a detal1ed deslgn for the project lncludlng the ten steps descrlbed brlefly below_ We propose that the pllot - 6 - prOject will run for roughly SIX months, from the fall of 1987 to the spnng of 1988. 1. Survey of Interest We WIll admlnister a brlef mail survey of a random sample of current nelghborhood watch captalns to flnd out If they thInk electronIc communIcatIon w1th the PolIce Department and each other wlll enhance CIty aSsIstance and thelr effectIveness as crlme preventIon volunteers. If thIS survey shows that the captalns do not feel that th1s pIlot project 1S worthwh1le pursuIng, we w1ll not conduct the project 2 Developing Restrictions for Use of Electronic Messaging The InformatIon ServIces Department wlll make necessary adjustments to the CIty'S electronIc messaglng software to ensure that the project partlClpants dIrectly communlcate only wlth each other and a few deslgnated CIty staff members lnvolved ln the project 3 Selecting PartiCipants Ten current block captains, chosen randomly, WIll be asked to partICIpate In the proJect, USIng the following cr1terla half WIll be currently actlve captaIns, half formerly active, as rated by the Pollce Department's Cr1me Preventlon Coordlnator, they will represent a mlX of blocks w1th apartments, slngle famIly homes, and mIxed apartments and homes, they WIll be In relatIvely close proXlmlty to lllcreBse the beneflts of communicatIon between captaIns. Before agreeIng to partICIpate, each captaln wlll be lnformed in wrItlng how the project wlll be conducted They must agree to cooperate wlth the proJect1s perIodlc data collect1on, not misuse the CIty property loaned to them and return the CIty property to the C1ty at the end of the project 4 I nstalling Hardware, Testing System The Clty w~ll lnstall and test ln each part~clpant's home a Clty-owned computer termInal and modem to allow communlcatlon wIth the Clty computer. (The project WIll use the Hewlett Packard central C1ty computer) not the Police Department's computer) .5 Training Participants The lO part~clpants w~ll be tralned by Clty staff on how to use the electrolllC messaglng software. They wdl a1::;0 be provlded wlth standard wrltten documentatlon for the software and term1nal they wl11 use The project wl11 use HP Desk software, the CIty for general electronlc comrnunlcatlon and Includes on-lIne help and tralnlng aIds same software now used by the It IS fleXIble, rellable, - 7 - 6. Collecting Benchmark I nformatlon from Participants Before the partlclpants begln com~unlcatlng electronlcally, we wlll conduct brlef lntervlews wlth them to collect lnformatlon on thelr current level of crlme preventlon actlvltles, thelr attltudes toward these actlvitles and Clty support of them and thelr perspective on crime ln thelr neighborhoods Because we are interested ln how th~s project wlll affect the nelghborhood blocks represented by the partlclpatlng captalns, we wll1 also collect slmllar lnformatlon from a sample of the resldents of these blocks 7 I nltlatEng and Monitoring ActivIties For the SlX months the partlclpants use electronlc communlcation, we wlll collect lnformatlon electLon~cally on who sends and receives messages and how often The Pollce Department's Crlme Preventlon Supervlsor wlll communlcate routlnely wlth the partlClpants, lnltlatlng dlScusslons, respondlng to questlons and requests and supplYlng tlmely crlme preventlon lnformatlon He wlll also contlnue supportlng these and other captalns uSlng conventlonal means as well we wlll keep track of how the Pollce Department uses the project to communlcate the content, tlrnelJness and frequency of informatlon exchanged We wlll also collect lnformatlon electrolllcally on who sends and recelves messages and how often Mldway ~hrough the project, we plan to formally survey the partlclpants on thelr reactlons and make any needed adjUstMents ln tralning or use of the electronlc commun~catlon Informally, throughout the proJect, we wl11 respond to suggest~ons for lmprovements to the use of the new capablllty. 8. Collecting Project End InformatIon from Participants At the concluslon of the proJect, we wlll agaln collect lnformatlon from the part~clpants, uSlng survey lnstruments slmllar to those used at the outset to measure how the prOject has affected the captalns' (and thelr nelghbors') actlVltles and attltudes about crlffie preventlon and the Pollee Department1s serVlces 9 Dems-talllng Hardware We wlll delnstall the Clty'S termlnals and modems, returnlng them to Clty Hall for use by Clty staff 10 Analyzing and Reporting Results; Recommending Further ActIon, If Warranted : ~ - 8 - We wlll analyze the results of the project and present them in a report to the Clty ~anager. In the report, we wlll recommend any actions the the Clty could conslder to take full advantage of what has been learned from the proJect. Pilot Project #3: An On-Lme Community Resource Directory The Communlty and ~elghborhood SerVlces D1V1Slon plans to evaluate the feaslblllty of maklng the Clty'S Communlty Resource Directory avallable on-Ilne to serVlce provlders and other Clty dlvlslons In order to enhance their capabilltles to provlde lnformatlon and referral serVlces to cltlzens and keep the dlrectory's lnformatlon current These provlders now use a hard copy form of thlS dlrectory. When the d~rectory 1S on-Ilne, serVlce provlders wlll be able to search more effectlvely and qUlckly for lnformatlon to meet the needs of spec1flc cllents by serVlce category, locatlon and cllent characterlstlcs For example, lf a serVlce provlder wants to flnd counsellng serVlces avallable to abused women durlng evenlng hours, an on-Ilne search can help the provlder qUlckly determine a cllent's cholces. An on-line dlrectory can also be kept up to date more easlly than a hard copy dlrectory. Currently, the hard copy d1rectory lS revised and redlstributed about every three years, although changes ln serVlces occur frequently, causlng delays and frustrations for cltizens need1ng lnformatlon on serVlces The C1ty can make changes 1n the electron1c verSlon of the dlrectory as soon as they are known and all on-llne dlrectory users wlll slmultaneously have an updated dlrectory. The Community and Ne1ghborhood Services D1V1S10ll w1ll develop a speclflc descr~ptlon of the an-llne directory, lncludlng search capab1l1tles, update procedures, how users wlll access lt and who wlll use It The D1V1S10ll wlll evaluate 1f such a dlrectory 1S feas1ble. If so, the D1V1Slon wlll develop a plan to lnclude how and when the on-llne dlrectory wll1 be developed and pilot tested. City Budget Impact For pllot project #1, we propose to conduct the cltlzen survey of lnterest, and, 1f the survey results warrant, prepare a deta1led lmplementatlon plan The costs of these tasks, approx1rnately $5,000, wll1 be covered by the current approprlat1ons for the Clty ~anagerls Offlce and the Information Systems Department For Pllot project #2, the \elghborhood Watch Electronic Message System, the cost of the lnterest survey, ten termlnals and modems for the proJect, preparat10n of mon1tor1ng and tra1lllng materials, and software mod1f1catlons to restrlct the electronlC access to Clty Hall will not exceed $20,ODO At the concluslon of the proJect, the Clty wlll use the termlnals and modems as part of ltS normal comput1llg network for Clty staff. Currently ava1lable Pollce Depa~tment salary savlngs wlll be used to cover these expendltures t - 9 - Pllot project #3 IS beIng conducted In conjUnctIon wIth a budget ObjectIve for the CommunIty and ~eIghborhood SerVIces Divlslon If the project IS found feasIble. a proposed ImplementatIon plan and potentIal costs WIll be determIned.