By Mia Tripi, Senior Director – Public Affairs, Mueller Communications
You put real effort into getting information out to your community, yet you still hear that people didn’t know a meeting was happening, that a process didn’t feel transparent, that a development caught them off guard (and was the TID really necessary?).
Whether a resident comes away from a situation trusting you or frustrated traces back to one question: could they make sense of what you said and why you made that decision?
Available Isn’t the Same as Understood
Defined broadly, “accessibility” is a practical matter. It’s essential to share reports in public meetings, post agendas and maintain records anyone can request, but a document that’s technically available yet impossible to follow is, in practice, invisible.
Jim Healy, the village administrator in Richfield, says it best: “If we want people to pay attention to anything we say, we need to make sure they understand what they’re hearing.”
Residents can only engage on what they understand – what is truly accessible for them. You can only serve them well when you understand them.
Listen First — Make Sure You Understand, Too
It’s hard to serve a community unless you know what they care about and what they’re concerned about. So start by connecting — find out what residents need and where they’re getting lost.
Take Richfield’s approach to road projects. The village’s spring pre-construction meetings used to run like a classroom: a presentation, then a few questions. Year after year the same frustration persisted from neighbors. Turns out, staff weren’t hearing what neighbors needed: the cul-de-sac still didn’t have a curb cut, the corner never drained quite right. Easy fixes, once you know the problem. To encourage shared understanding, Richfield changed the meeting format. Staff now work the room like an open house, one station at a time. People will tell you one-on-one what they’d never say with a hand raised in a crowd.
Listening isn’t always that literal. Your website analytics — or a simple user-experience audit — can show you which pages people actually use, where they’re hitting barriers, and what small tweaks would make a big difference.
Communicate Plainly — Say the Most Important Thing First
The key is writing and saying things everyday people understand and relate to. Skip the jargon, underscore what matters, address likely questions proactively, lay out the tradeoffs of opposing options, and make next steps crystal clear.
Richfield does something I wish every municipality could copy. Every legal notice goes out with a plain-language memo attached. The legalese is still there — it has to be. But the memo translates it: what this is, why you’re getting it, what happens next, who to call. The most important thing goes first; as Healy put it, everything you need to know is in the first paragraph, and the rest is context. The simple explanation respects people’s time and cuts down the follow-up calls to staff.
Plus, by using a proactive approach like the memo, you invite people to share their perspectives and help ensure outcomes meet their expectations.
Be Available – Show Up Where Your Community Finds Information
We know not everyone can attend meetings in the Council Chambers. So how do we really reach the public to let them know about complicated considerations?
Where you communicate matters as much as saying something plainly and proactively. Make the information shared in committee or council meetings easily accessible by streaming those meetings and posting recordings, captions included, so a resident working second shift or home with a sick kid can still follow what happened and participate in the process. Consider leading each meeting packet with a one-paragraph, plain language summary for each major agenda item.
When something needs more explanation, one dedicated web page (simple overview, background context, a timeline with meeting dates, links to fact sheets that break things down, FAQs) helps people find what might otherwise feel hidden.
Sit down with a local reporter or publish a letter to the editor. Mail a regular newsletter to every property in town to get in front of the people who’ll never see Facebook posts. Point people back to that web page after a brief explanation.
Signage works, too. I’m sure you’ve heard the calls roll in after a few neighbors plant yard signs about an issue. Lead the conversation instead. Use the digital sign at City Hall, place a few low-budget yard signs to flag what an upcoming meeting is about – not just that it’s happening.
Sharing information in all places means you cover your bases and meet your community members wherever they are. If they hear about something from you, it’s more likely to be true.
The Bottom Line — Access and Understanding Aren’t the Goal. Trust Is.
Good public service requires shared understanding and open communications, like any other relationship. As you move forward, before anything leaves your office, ask one question: will a resident actually understand this?
That’s how you reach your goal: a thriving community that trusts you enough to tell you what it needs, take part in the work, and stay with you on the decisions that aren’t easy.
Helping Wisconsin communities listen, communicate, and reach residents is the work we do every day at Mueller Communications. If your community could use a thought partner — from untangling a single confusing notice to building a full engagement plan — we’re always glad to talk it through.
