The Hanford City Council has chosen the person to fill a newly created position of community relations manager for the city and will identify the individual on Aug. 8, City Manager Mario Cifuentez said Wednesday.
“Early in 2020, the City saw the need for a dedicated position to manage the City’s social media platforms and develop a comprehensive community outreach and messaging plan. Unfortunately, it wasn’t until the annual withdrawal from the City Council’s goal this year, which happened on March 29, that Council ordered staff to move forward with the hiring of this new position,” Cifuentez said.
According to Cifuentez, once the position was formally approved by the Council during the mid-cycle budget process, the city created a job description and held an open recruitment for the position.
The city received more than a dozen applications and has selected the best candidate to fill the new position, Cifuentez said. The new community relations manager will begin work on August 8, when the formal announcement is made.
The Community Relations Manager will be responsible for maintaining the city’s social media accounts, as well as acting as a liaison between the city and the community, among other duties.
The position rests in the city manager’s office, and the community relations officer will help “advise city leadership in the development and implementation of effective current and long-term policies, plans and practices that improve their relations with the public,” according to the brochure. created for job posting.
The job will include a comprehensive benefits package, plus a monthly salary of $6,719 to $8,205 depending on qualifications and experience.
Benefits package includes a $50/month cell phone stipend, a retirement plan through CalPERS, and health insurance that includes dental and vision.
During a city council meeting this week to address a downtown transit plan, Mayor Kalish Morrow said the position will “take care of the public relations aspect of our local government.”
“I can’t change the past, but moving forward we can do better,” he said, responding to commenters who raised concerns about the Council’s transparency, specifically related to the Northstar Courts project.
Councilor Amanda Saltry, who also attended the meeting, said: “We’re trying to create a better understanding and make sure everyone’s voices are heard.”
The community relations officer will be responsible for creating press releases and acting as the city’s media point of contact, as well as developing, coordinating and participating in press conferences, according to the prospectus.
