Mary Haddad, MPA, City of Agoura Hills Communications Manager

Running a one- to two-person communications team is not for the faint-hearted, but it is one of the most rewarding and impactful roles in an agency. You’re the photographer, videographer, content creator, media liaison, social media manager and somehow still stay five steps ahead. So how do you juggle it all while staying strategic, consistent, and fiscally conservative during a time where many local jurisdictions are facing difficult budget conversations?

Here are some tips that have helped me save time and deliver strong communications without breaking the budget. I have even linked some helpful tools.

1. Create Your Internal Network (Your PIT Crew)

At the last CAPIO conference, I talked about creating a Public Information Team (PIT). Yes, it’s one more meeting, but a 30-minute check-in at the start of each week helps you get ahead of projects, reduce last-minute scrambling, and ensure nothing slips through the cracks when working with multiple departments and divisions. Having a reliable point of contact in each department means you won’t need to chase updates, and they’ll start proactively feeding you content.

Cost-Saving Tip: Encourage departments to snap their own event photos and videos and send simple notes for you to be able to create something. You don’t need a photographer at every event. One of your PIT Crew meetings could even be a photography 101 crash course on a cell phone.

2. Build Your External Network

One of the biggest things I hear is that outreach should not only be online. Of course, with the cost of mailers and capacity of a small team being able to go door to door, this poses a challenge. This is when your external network of community groups, schools, faith-based organizations, HOAs, nonprofits, and local businesses will serve you. I recommend taking 10-20 minutes out of your day to send out a couple of these emails and challenge yourself to build these connections by the end of the year. The benefits? These relationships become your no-cost amplification channels, helping you get information out to thousands without spending a dime on advertising.

Budget Bonus: These groups often have newsletters or bulletin boards that will post your City updates for free. All you have to do is ask.

3. Lean on Templates, AI, and Free Tools

When time is everything, utilizing templates and AI in a way that still upholds your brand and organization’s voice is essential. In previous conferences, I’ve spoken about the power of Canva and every month the platform seems to get better and better. So here is how to save time and money: 1) Use Canva to pre-create templates for some of the big items we all deal with weekly, including traffic closures, recruitments, alerts, events, and project updates. Within a platform like Canva, you are also able to pull beautiful templates for videos that increase engagement significantly.

Pro Tip: One hour of scheduling posts saves you five during the week. Work with your PIT crew to get as much information ahead of time (of course last minute will always be a thing), and schedule those out using a platform like Hootsuite or the free scheduler within Meta Business Suite.

4. It’s Okay to Ask the Pros: Spend a Bit Now to Save Later

While we’re all about maximizing internal resources, there are times when bringing in the pros is strategic and saves time and money in the long term. Investing in a few high-quality visuals or tools now can save your team time, elevate your brand, and provide content you’ll use for years.

Our City has worked with RMG Communications, and they’ve been instrumental in helping us set up for success. From drone footage to professional photography and strategic support, having a vendor with the gear and expertise we don’t always have in-house has made a lasting impact. Talk with leadership about building room in the budget for periodic professional support.

5. Plan Ahead for Emergencies to Avoid Costly Delays

When a crisis hits, you don’t want to waste time (or money) figuring out what to say. Build your emergency communications toolkit now or in the off-season:

• Pre-written messages for social media and your City’s emergency notifications system (CodeRed, Nixle, etc.)
• A list of trusted backup contacts and media outlets
• Press release templates and FAQ documents
• Graphic templates for evacuations, closures, and PSAs

Crisis Communications Plan: Need a head start? Here is the Crisis Communications Plan I created for the City of Agoura Hills.

It’s All About Perspective

When people hear “small communications team,” they often assume it means limited output, limited bandwidth, and limited visibility. Small teams may not have the staff and technology of a larger agency or the budget of a large agency department, but what they do have is something incredibly powerful, and that is opportunity to really grow and learn about all aspects of this rewarding field. It is a front-row seat to organizational operations, which ultimately makes you a subject-matter expert in some big topics.

Another perspective I shared at the 2025 CAPIO conference is that communications is an amazing path to leadership within an organization. Remember your superpowers when things feel difficult. You got this!

For any questions about any of these tips, please don’t hesitate to contact me: mhaddad@agourahillscity.org.  

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