LGBTQ Equality Index Syracuse earned a top score of 100 in the Municipal Equality Index (MEI), a comprehensive nationwide assessment of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ+) equality in municipal policies, laws and services. Syracuse was one of six cities in New York earning 100 out of 100 points in the MEI Index, which is conducted by the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), America's largest civil rights organization working to achieve equality for LGBTQ+ people. This designation affirms the work of the Mayor’s LGBTQ+ Advisory Board. The Board is an avenue for representatives of the LGBTQ+ community to provide input and feedback to the City on matters of policy, programming, procedure and training.
Syracuse Named a Digital Inclusion Trailblazer The City received the 2023 Digital Inclusion Trailblazer Award from the National Digital Inclusion Alliance for its efforts to close the digital divide. The distinction recognizes Syracuse’s commitment to digital inclusion – access to affordable high-speed internet, devices, and digital skills training. Digital Inclusion Trailblazers are municipal, county, or regional governments that are paving the way and providing excellent models for digitally inclusive communities.
Open Data Portal In 2023, the Office of Analytics, Performance, and Innovation (API) added 34 new or updated datasets to the Open Data Portal, an online resource for constituents to engage with open data, maps, and visualizations to help you understand what is happening in the city.
Open Data Day In November, API held its first Open Data Day, which brought together about 130 local data-oriented minds to provide analysis, visualizations and web projects tied to understanding citizens’ experience with transportation systems in Syracuse. The result was 8 total projects, which are posted online for public use.
Online FOIL Program The Department of Law took the FOIL (Freedom of Information Law) process online. Now, citizens can more easily and accessibly request information available under FOIL. Residents can access the link from syr.gov/foil.
Office of CommunicationsThe Office of Communications continues to improve the efficiency of City communications and public engagement to the public and the media. For the first time, the City of Syracuse has unified its communications and public information officers into a Citywide Communications Team.
Responsive Public Information The City has improved news media engagement through distribution of 226 non-emergency press releases and 552 emergency (fire, police, winter weather or infrastructure) press releases in 2023.
Improving Public Engagement and Marketing The City has improved public engagement by increasing the quality and quantity of reach for city programs through both digital channels and community partnerships. Examples include:
The City grew the social media audience following of City accounts from a combined 208,800 followers in 2022 to 224,000 in 2023.
The Syracuse Police is the 3rd most followed Public Safety Agency in New York, behind the NYPD and Buffalo Police.
The City has partnered with the Office of Human Resources to revive the @WorkForSyracuse social media account to support talent acquisition, reach job-seekers and share stories of why the city is becoming an Employer of Choice.
The City now engages residents at least 5 times per project or program by sharing information (1) on syr.gov, (2) on social media, (3) with news and media partners, (4) with community partners through newsletters and forums, and (5) with physical marketing material via mail or accessible and targeted locations.
A New City Website In 2023, the Communications Office partnered with Digital Services to successfully complete migration of content from the old city website at syrgov.net to the new secure syr.gov. Using syr.gov provides several benefits for both employees and residents:
City departments can now monitor analytics and web behavior reports on web traffic from an average of 35,000 users per month.
Residents can perform 36 new self-services on syr.gov that were previously only in-person.
Retired two dozen unused and un-managed digital domains and continue to write and support new content and launch new websites the right way while partnering with IT to manage the City’s information securely.
Visual Storytelling with Photographers The Communications Office launched a photo series to help tell the story of Syracuse in visual content. The series, #Syracuse Photo Series, seeks out talented photographers in the community to help us tell the story of the city by featuring seasonally selected photos on the city website and prominently on social media.
Leadership in Communications The Communications and Marketing Director, Ruthnie Angrand, was named ELGL Top 100 Influencers in Local Gov Award (formerly Traeger Award) in 2023. Engaging Local Government Leaders (ELGL) is a professional association with more than 4800 members from all 50 states and overseas focused on authentic and meaningful practices in government.
New Marketing Apprenticeship The Communications Office has partnered with Manufacturers Association of Central New York (MACNY) to participate in the launch of a registered apprenticeship for a Marketing Coordinator. This ensures the City engages in creating workforce advancement pathways in its use of marketing, telling its own stories and digital engagement.