REACHING OUT TO IMMIGRANT COMMUNITY

El Cajon seeks ways to improve communication with its many residents

El Cajon regularly communicates with the community through social media, mailings, its website, a phone app, email notifications, press releases and its biannual Gateway magazine.

Despite those efforts, some residents are still not being reached, especially the city’s large population of immigrants who speak languages other than English. Because of that, city staff members say, the city is revisiting the ways it shares information with property owners, renters, businesses and visitors.

David Richards, assistant to the city manager, said the shortcomings in communicating with some non-english-speaking residents were exposed during the pandemic.

Richards said the city is listening to constituents’ concerns and developing plans to further open conversations with segments of the population it has had challenges reaching.

He presented a report earlier this month to the City Council that gave specific information on requests by the community, outlining various changes the city is considering based on feedback from surveys and focus groups.

The report said that six focus groups held earlier this year drew a wide range of community members. Richards shared several pieces of information that he said would guide future plans for communicating in the city.

Some of the requests from residents:

• All city materials be translated into Spanish and Arabic;

• The city should partner with local school districts to share information;

• Develop a “What’s happening in El Cajon” email or email newsletters for businesses;

• Update the website more often; and

• Consider phone notifications or texts to reach seniors.

The city also used an online survey over a two-week period in 2021 to identify communication preferences of residents and businesses. Richards said the survey revealed areas where the city can do better, including posting news more frequently, promoting the city’s phone app, using Nextdoor for public safety updates and hosting Town Hall meetings.

The survey showed that most people who answered chose Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Nextdoor for their social media needs, with far fewer using Linkedin, Tiktok and Snapchat.

Richards said one of the more surprising findings is that residents are very interested in city projects and private developments, and want to stay better informed on what is coming to El Cajon.

He said he expected the city to do more to promote its mobile app. Out of the 111 people who answered the survey’s question about the app, only 25 said they had downloaded the app on their mobile phone.

Richards said staff will develop a final “Communications and Outreach Plan” for City Council consideration later this year.