anchor Mission Statement
The mission of the Office of Public Information (PIO) is to provide timely, accurate, and effective communication with the public. PIO works with the County Executive, departments and agencies, media, County employees, the County Council and other elected officials, businesses, civic groups, and every other segment of the Montgomery County community. PIO provides information through the mass media, social media, internet, presentations, publications and graphics, cable television programming, and telephone and electronic requests for information and assistance via the MC311 Customer Service Center.
anchor Budget Overview
The total approved FY21 Operating Budget for the Office of Public Information is $5,464,768, an increase of $95,456 or 1.78 percent from the FY20 Approved Budget of $5,369,312. Personnel Costs comprise 96.46 percent of the budget for 70 full-time position(s) and one part-time position(s), and a total of 52.70 FTEs. Total FTEs may include seasonal or temporary positions and may also reflect workforce charged to or from other departments or funds. Operating Expenses account for the remaining 3.54 percent of the FY21 budget.
County Priority Outcomes
While this program area supports all eight of the County Result Areas, the following is emphasized:
- Effective, Sustainable Government
anchorProgram Performance Measures
Performance measures for this department are included below (where applicable), with multi-program measures displayed at the front of this section and program-specific measures shown with the relevant program. The FY20 estimates reflect funding based on the FY20 approved budget. The FY21 and FY22 figures are performance targets based on the FY21 approved budget and funding for comparable service levels in FY22.
Program Descriptions
Public Relations
Under this program, the Office of Public Information: Educates and informs residents about County issues, programs, and services through press releases, media advisories, news, public events, the County website, e-mail and online newsletters, YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter. Works directly with media organizations to ensure that reporters and editors...
Program Performance Measures | Actual FY18 | Actual FY19 | Estimated FY20 | Target FY21 | Target FY22 |
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Number of press events | 57 | 41 | 48 | 48 | 48 |
Total attendance at press conferences and press events | 5,826 | 6,279 | 6,500 | 6,800 | 7,000 |
Internal County staff satisfaction with PIO services (scale of 1-4) | 3.22 | 3.30 | 3.50 | | |
Total utilization of direct resident communication systems - web, YouTube, video, podcasts, Facebook, Twitter (in millions) | 57.6 | 58.9 | 60.0 | 61 | 62 |
Read More Web Content and Graphic Management
The four major functions of this program include: Providing creative and technical support to Public Relations, Cable Programming, MC311, and to departments. Developing and overseeing the County's graphic identity program to ensure consistency in the County's printed communication for the public. The program develops printing guidelines for...
Program Performance Measures | Actual FY18 | Actual FY19 | Estimated FY20 | Target FY21 | Target FY22 |
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Number of press releases and media advisories posted on website | 932 | 718 | 890 | 890 | 890 |
Number of subscribers to county communications | 6,294 | 8,471 | 10,000 | | |
Average open rate for email communications | 20.6% | 20.4% | 22% | | |
Read More MC311 Customer Service Center
MC311 is a key strategic, enterprise-wide initiative that provides the public with a single three-digit number (311) to call for County information and service. In addition, it provides the County with a sophisticated ability to count, track, and respond to resident requests. MC311 provides the general public with...
Program Performance Measures | Actual FY18 | Actual FY19 | Estimated FY20 | Target FY21 | Target FY22 |
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Average amount of time it takes to reach an MC311 Customer Service Representative after welcome announcement (in seconds) 1 | N/A | 94 | 20 | 20 | 20 |
Percent of MC311 survey respondents reporting satisfaction | 85% | 83% | 85% | 85% | 85% |
Cost per customer contact (in dollars) (salary expenditures divided by the total number of customer contacts by phone, web portal, mobile-enabled portal, Twitter) 2 | $3.80 | $3.72 | $3.72 | $3.72 | $3.72 |
Average rate of Service Requests created on the MC311 website and the mobile enabled portal | 36.92% | 37.41% | 40.00% | 40.00% | 40.00% |
Total number of Fulfillment Service Requests created 3 | 222,850 | 233,941 | 235,000 | 235,000 | 235,000 |
Total number of General Information Service Requests created 4 | 355,543 | 352,409 | 350,000 | 350,000 | 350,000 |
Percent of calls classified as General Information | 72.61% | 73.93% | 74.00% | 74.00% | 74.00% |
Average rate of calls that come into 311, but are not answered by a Customer Service Representative (CSR) 5 | 8.14% | 9.90% | 5.00% | 5.00% | 5.00% |
Average percent of callers requesting to speak Spanish | 3.76% | 3.54% | 4.00% | 4% | 4% |
Read More