Keri Johnson, City Clerk for the City of Upland, California, shares her insights on best practices for ensuring that public meetings are both efficient and engaging. She discusses how technology, particularly eScribe, has streamlined meeting preparation and execution, improved public participation, and supported her team in managing the myriad tasks that come with her role.
What are some strategies you’ve implemented to ensure your public meetings run smoothly and efficiently?
One of the key strategies we use is setting up and testing all the equipment in the chamber on the morning of the meeting. This includes everything from microphones to voting systems. We also run through any PowerPoints or videos that will be used to ensure they are displayed and formatted correctly. By anticipating potential equipment issues, we can address them before the meeting begins.
How do you handle last-minute changes or additions to the meeting agenda to minimize disruption and maintain order?
Switching to eScribe has made handling last-minute changes much easier. With our previous system, we had to make hard copies and pass them out manually. Now, we can upload additional documents directly to the meeting, making them immediately available to the public and the council. This approach is much smoother and ensures everyone has the necessary documents quickly.
Can you share some best practices for improving public participation and engagement during meetings?
I include clear instructions on the agenda and our speaker cards about how the public can participate. Additionally, I make a point to be in the chamber at least 15 minutes before the meeting starts so people can ask questions. Many people are unfamiliar with the process, especially if they’ve never spoken at a public meeting before, so it helps to walk them through it and make them feel more comfortable.
How has implementing eScribe helped you streamline your meeting preparation and execution? Any tips for other clerks considering eScribe?
eScribe has made managing agendas and documents much more efficient. It’s easy to make changes, whether it’s replacing a document or an entire staff report. The ad hoc approvers feature is particularly useful when multiple departments need to collaborate, allowing us to customize workflows as needed. For clerks considering eScribe, I’d say the flexibility it offers in managing documents and workflows is a significant benefit.
How do you balance the workload of regular administrative tasks with the demands of public meetings?
Prioritization is key. I try to plan my day or week in advance, but I often have to adjust as more urgent matters arise. When there’s a lighter agenda or during a legislative break, I take advantage of that time to tackle lower-priority projects that have been on my to-do list.
How do you feel technology has improved your meeting processes overall?
Technology has greatly improved our meeting processes. Live streaming our meetings has been a game-changer. Although in-person attendance has decreased, we know that people are still watching and staying informed. Remote participation has also been beneficial, although we’ve suspended it for now. The option to enable it when needed keeps the public engaged.
What is the biggest challenge you face as a City Clerk?
The biggest challenge is balancing the wide range of responsibilities while ensuring transparency and meeting all legal requirements. We have to adhere to election codes and government codes, which adds another layer of complexity to our work. Managing day-to-day tasks while meeting these obligations is a constant challenge.
What aspects of eScribe have impressed you the most?
I’ve been most impressed by the customer support and the implementation team. We haven’t encountered many issues, but when we do, the response time from eScribe’s support team is incredibly fast—usually within the hour. This level of support is crucial, especially when we need updates or changes made quickly.
If someone told you that you could no longer use eScribe, how would that make you feel?
I can’t imagine going back to our old agenda software. It was outdated and not user-friendly. With eScribe, I was able to build the system from the ground up to fit our needs, and it has saved me a lot of time. I would not be happy if we had to switch back.
Is there any feedback you’d like to share that I can take back to the eScribe team?
I really appreciate how intuitive eScribe is for users. Onboarding new staff has been easy because most people are already familiar with Word, and eScribe’s templates are user-friendly. This ease of use saves me time on training, which is essential since we’re not a large office.