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.

Budget Overview

The total approved FY23 Operating Budget for the Office of Public Information is $6,735,699, an increase of $779,505 or 13.09 percent from the FY22 Approved Budget of $5,956,194. Personnel Costs comprise 96.35 percent of the budget for 76 full-time position(s) and one part-time position(s), and a total of 60.90 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 3.65 percent of the FY23 budget.

County Priority Outcomes

While this program area supports all eight of the County Result Areas, the following is emphasized:

• Effective, Sustainable Government

Program 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 FY22 estimates reflect funding based on the FY22 approved budget. The FY23 and FY24 figures are performance targets based on the FY23 approved budget and funding for comparable service levels in FY24.

Initiatives

• Funding provided for Spanish language communications outreach via Radio America, communicating directly with this specific segment of the County's population.
• Fund 3 new MC311 Customer Service Representative positions to increase the productivity of Service Center operations.
• Provide funding for two new Public Information Officers due to expanded County-wide communications programming.

Innovations and Productivity Improvements

• MC311 created a feature where customers can press "3" during the welcome message to be directed to an agent focused on trash collection and recycling, which increased customer satisfaction.
• MC311 altered training for remote operations which also accelerated training, getting customer service representatives handling calls professionally after 3-4 weeks vs. 8-10 weeks.
• During the past year, MC311 has reduced complexity and streamlined business processes to handle requests for service and information with the Office of Human Resources (OHR), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), and the Department of Permitting Services (DPS) resulting in shorter wait times for customers.
• While standardizing and simplifying Knowledge Based Articles (KBA) with plain language, to improve customer satisfaction, MC311 has reduced the number of KBAs considerably.
• MC311 continues to hire Spanish speaking customer service representatives for both permanent and contract positions. MC311 currently has 21 multi-lingual speakers on staff, including contractors.

Program Descriptions

  Public Relations

Under this program, the Public Information Office: 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, Twitter, and podcasts. Works directly with media organizations to ensure that reporters and editors have...

  Web Content and Graphic Management

The Web Content and Graphic Development Program has four major functions. 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...

  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 a higher...