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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOD-059-08Clarln ~ Leading the Way ~.. REPORT CORPORATE SERVICES DEPARTMENT Meeting: General Purpose and Administration Committee Date: October 6, Y008 Resolution #: Y sa -~ Report #: COD-059-0>~ File #: By-law #: Subject: Review of Clarington.net, Publication Recommendations: It is respectfully recommended that the General Purpose and Administration Committee recommend to Council the following: 1. THAT Report CI'JD-059-08 be received. Submitted by: rie Marano, H.B.Sc., C.M.O. Director of Corporate Services MM/JC/gj Reviewed by ~-OC"'~`~-~-''`-~ "`• Franklin Wu Chief Administrative Officer ORPORATION OF THE MUNICIPALITY OF CLARINGTON 40 TEMPERANCE STREET, BOWMANVILLE, ONTARIO L1C 3A6 T (905)623-3379 F (905)623-5506 REPORT NO.: 1.0 BACKGROUND PAGE 2 During the 2008 budget deliberation process, Council received report # COD- 001-08 (2007 Advertising Review). Although the focus of the report was the corporate newspaper advertising program, it also included a discussion about publishing acorporate/municipal newsletter. As a result, the following resolution (GPA-028-08) was proposed and later ratified at the January 28, 2008 meeting of Council. "THAT Report COD- 001-08 be received for information; THAT $ 20, 000 be added to the Advertising Budget to allow for the publication of a quarterly communique: and, THAT a status report on the publication be provided to the General Purpose and Administration Committee in the fall of 2008." Subsequent to this meeting a new line account was created for the purpose of keeping the costs of the corporate newsletter (Clarington.net) separate for easy monitoring and tracking. All expenses (printing and postage) are charged to Account100-16-161-00000-7187. Clarington.net EXPENSES: ISSUE PRIN tING POSTAGE TOTAL EXPENSE PAGES EXPENSE HOUSEHOLDS EXPENSE FEBRUARY 4 $ 2,237.38 29,106 $ 3,314.58 $ 5,551.96 MAY 8 $ 3,522.45 29,202 $ 3,325.52 $ 6,847.97 AUGUST 8 $ 3,641.25 29,350 $ 3,201.32 $ 6,842.57 NOVEMBER 8 $ 3,830.00 29,767 $ 3,238.00 $ 7,068.00 $ 26,310.00 ~ November expenses are projected based on: no further increase in page count; no more lhan the projected 0.41 increase in the number of households; and, circulation only increases to 30,500 copies to accommodate projected household count z Source -Canada Post Household Counts (htto://www.canadaoost ca/coc2/addrm/hh/currenUindex~/coALL-e aso REPORT NO.: COD-05908 PAGE 3 Note that the numf~er of households receiving the newsletter increased from 29,106 in February to 29,767 for the November issue - an increase of almost 2.5% (+661 residences). To accommodate this, the November publication copy run will increase to 30,500 from the planned 29,500 -which will have an impact to the 2008 current budget allocation. 2.0 KEY POINTS Page count increased with the May issue due to the volume of material provided by municipal departments, municipal agencies (library, museums, visual arts centre) and community groups/organizations. Transportation fees paid to Canada Post were not paid for the August issue as the printer provided the service at a significantly lower cost. It was confirmed with all post offices that the material was received and delivered. This includes the Port Hope Post Office from which the eastern side of Clarington's mail (e.g. Kendal, Newtonville) is delivered. The publication is also available online (htto://newsletter.clarington.net). Additional copies (difference between # printed and # delivered to Canada Post) are available in the lobby of the Municipal Administration Centre, and the branches of the Clafington Public Library. The publication is delivered to any resident in Clarington who has NOT registered with Canada Post to not receive unaddressed ad mail -which is the postal classification given to the Clarington.net. The "Consumer's Choice" program was introduced by Canada Post (July 2, 1997) and respects the consumers' wish not to receive unaddressed material. There are five exemptions under the Program: • House of Commons mailings • Elections Canada mailings • Provincial Chief Electoral Officers' mailings • Municipal electoral mailings • Community newspapers. REPORT NO.: PAGE 4 3.0 OBSERVATIONS Non-municipal contributors love the publication as it assists them in promoting their programs and services at no cost. Most (if not all) do not have budgets that would enable them to access newspaper publications such as Clarington This Week and the circulation of the Orono Weekly Times. The timeline from initiating email (requesting material submissions) to final publication is approximately 3 weeks - in theory. In practical terms, given the workflow of the Communications Division, the timeline is closer to 8 weeks. Community Services, Communications & Tourism and Emergency & Fire are the largest (most consistent) municipal contributors. 4.0 COMMENTS/SUMMARY The publication appears to be very well received by the residents but it would be helpful to have documentation to support this assessment. To achieve this, staff recommends that the Municipality implement a media habits survey in 2009 which would include the Clarington.net publication. Not only the survey provide information on the public's reception of the municipal publication, it would also provide the Municipality with some insight into the public's preferred media - radio, television, print, and/or Internet -for getting the information they require. Advertising would both increase expenses and decrease expenses. There would have to be a balance between the costs of printing (because advertising would definitely increase the number of pages per issue) and the revenue generated. The revenue would have to cover the cost of printing, mailing and advertising sales (commission). More notable would be the change in the production timeline which would increase to incorporate advertising sales with design and placement requirements. With the publication of the November issue, the original budget ($20,000) will be overspent by approximately $ 6,500. REPORT NO.: COD-059-08 PAGE 5 Controllable costs (printing) are stabilized provided that the publication does not exceed the current 8-page count. The total number of copies printed will be increased to 124,000 (31,000 copies/issue) for 2009 to accommodate the increasing numberof households that Canada Post delivers to. The cost of postage ($0.106/piece) for the increased distribution will also be factored into the 2009 budget proposal. It is recommended that the publication continue at 4 issues for the 2009. budget year. The projected 2009 expense, based on the 2008 actual expense incurred, will be included in the budget estimates for Council consideration in budget deliberations.