Council considers hiring a spokesperson

Noaki Schwartz

NEWPORT BEACH -- City leaders are discussing whether to hire a public

information officer to coordinate public and press inquiries to the city.

“It’s to have someone to act as sort of a hub for questions -- to make

sure we get you to the right person to talk to,” said Dave Kiff, deputy

city manager.

The information officer would distribute information to residents, act as

a liaison with homeowners associations and respond to the community’s

complaints. If approved by the City Council, the estimated budget set

aside for the effort is $125,650 per year. Of that $55,000 - $65,000

would be used to pay for the officer.

The idea of hiring a public information officer immediately had some

community activists concerned that they would no longer be able to

directly speak to council members and city officials.

“It’s a waste of money,” said Tom Hyans, president of the Central Balboa

Homeowners Assn. “There are other things more important in the city [that

this money could go to]. This is not the way to use [over $100,000].”

But Kiff reiterated that the spokesperson would act as a middleman and

would not prevent contact with officials.

“Council still recognizes that residents will still want to approach

them,” Kiff said. “It’s that we really would like to do a better job

informing residents about city activities.”

The idea of hiring a public information officer surfaced at the council’s

September retreat. Council members discussed ways of improving

communications with the city’s residents, businesses and visitors and

agreed that a communications officer was necessary.

A decision on the issue has been temporarily shelved while staff

continues to research other options that wouldn’t involve hiring another

staff person, Kiff said.