APPLETON, WI (WTAQ) – Appleton City Hall is making an effort to better connect with constituents online through the mayor’s ‘Ask Me Anything’ program.
The Facebook Live conversations feature Mayor Jake Woodford. Over the course of an hour, the city works to answer questions that people ask in the chat.
“The idea is to facilitate a more direct conversation with people on social media…Answer the questions that folks are asking in real time,” Woodford told WTAQ News. “It could be anything from something related to a city project, questions about what’s happening in the city, to questions for me directly…We’ve gotten some odd questions over the last couple, [like] who I think is going to win a Japanese wrestling tournament. That one really stumped me.”
The city has been doing the segments on social media for the past few months. No sign-up is required.
They’ve usually been held over the noon hour, trying to catch people on their lunch breaks. But a new time has been set due to popular demand.
“We’re trying this one out in the evening, so it might be a little bit more difficult to get answers on really specific city-related issues. If we aren’t able to give folks an answer in the live session, we’ll follow up in the next one,” Woodford said. “It’s been anywhere from a few questions during the hour to a dozen questions. We’re hoping we have good participation and get to questions that are on people’s minds.”
The next ‘Ask Me Anything’ will be held at 6:00pm on Monday, October 25th.
Woodford says it’s not replacing normal means of communication for residents, but rather adding an extra line to reach out directly.
“This is in addition to the other ways that we reach out and have communication with the community. I do monthly in-person office hours,” Woodford said. “We also do listening sessions for things like the budget or the library project. People can always call the office or [send an] email, but this is another opportunity for people to engage and interact, and for us to hear from the community.”
A series of in-person meetings will be held at Jones Park on October 27th. People can sign up for a slot by calling the mayor’s office at 920-832-6400.
