City's Side site provide municipal perspective on controversial issues

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TIMES & TRANSCRIPT STAFF

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The City of Moncton has created a new forum on its website to fight back against criticism from the media and put its own perspective on issues that have been covered in the news.

"The philosophy of using the website is for the city to be more transparent and open on issues and we're doing that," Paul Thompson, the city's director of communications, said yesterday.

Thompson said the new City's Side section of the website was designed to be a repository for letters to the editor or statements from city staff written in response to news stories or articles in the media.

He said there have been incidents when city hall feels its side of the story hasn't been told the way it needs to be.

So far there are four items, all of which are responses to editorials that have appeared in the Times & Transcript on the subjects of public procurement and tenders, design of the new Botsford Street fire station, staffing levels of the corporate communications department and security aboard Codiac Transit buses.

"While the City of Moncton relies on a partnership with the media to relay important information out to the public, sometimes the city's side of the story is not accurately reflected in the media while other times the city's perspective is not reported at all," says the link's introductory paragraph.

Thompson said that over time the City's Side would be a place to put information from surveys taken by the city and a place for citizens to give their feedback.

The city's corporate communications department has grown from five to seven full-time employees since 2005. It is responsible for internal communications, media relations, the website, graphic design and crisis communications.

According to the city's 2009 budget, the department's total budget has decreased from $675,000 in 2008 to $640,924 in 2009.