Guidelines and Procedures for the Office of Communication & Public Information

Role of the Public Information Office

Public Information is the clearing house between anything that is created internally, before it is released to the public (including external organizations and agencies). This includes, but not limited to (print or digital):

No materials should be released, published or made available to the public without the proper approval and review from OPI. Everything should be given to OPI for approval at least five (5) days prior to public distribution in case any changes need to be made.

Press Releases and Media Responses

Department/Division Heads often receive direct inquiries from the media. However, to ensure consistent and accurate communication, they are required not to respond directly. Instead, we have designated the Director of Public Information as the official spokesperson and primary point of contact for all media inquiries.

If any media requests are directed to Department/Division Heads, they must promptly forward them to Kelly Martins, the Director of OPI.

This centralized approach allows us to assess media inquiries on a case-by-case basis and provide the most appropriate and coordinated responses. By following this procedure, we can ensure that our communication with the media is cohesive and in line with our organization’s messaging and policies.

Under no circumstances should press releases be issued directly from individual Departments/Divisions. The County places high importance on its media relationships, and as such, all press releases are coordinated through the Office of Public Information.

A well-planned calendar of releases ensures that our communication with the media is cohesive, consistent, and in line with our overall communication strategy. This approach allows us to effectively convey our messages to the public and maintain a positive and professional media presence.

To facilitate the timely and effective issuance of press releases, we ask that all requests be submitted at least one week prior to the event, program, or service in question.

Additionally, we encourage including as much pertinent information as possible upfront to expedite the process.

This includes providing any necessary quotes from Commissioners, partners, or other key individuals, along with essential event details such as date, time, and registration links.

Time sensitive releases require timely approval by Department Directors and Division Heads. If a release goes out late, it is usually due to untimely responses.

Letters or Promotional Materials (Flyers, Banners, Tablecloths, Giveaways, Etc)

All letters sent from the County of Union should be on OFFICIAL County Letterhead. Departments and Divisions are not permitted to create their own. If you do not have a copy of your letterhead, please reach out to OPI and we will send you the correct letterhead and format. This is NOT to be manipulated. The letterhead includes the County Seal at the top with the County of Union and the Department it is coming from; the Board of County Commissioners are listed on the left and the Division and address is at the bottom.

All materials should prominently display the name of the Union County Board of County Commissioners at the top.

Only Department Names may be included on the top of materials.

The proper County Commissioner branding must be included in the footer of all materials. If you are unsure of which branding to use, please ask OPI.

Department and Division logos may also be used in the footer of all materials.

If a department chooses to create its own marketing materials, it is their responsibility to ensure that the materials fall in line with the information mentioned previously above and can be easily printed by the Union County print shop.

The county branding cannot be manipulated, especially by outside vendors, except with the explicit approved of OPI.

QR Codes and Short URLs are acceptable to use and long web addresses should be avoided.

If you feel you have a special case when it comes to materials being printed that do not fall in line with these guidelines, please reach out to Kelly Martins, Director of OPI directly.

The Office of Public Information (OPI) reserves the right to request changes to any materials that does not comply with these policies.

Communications Project Request Form (aka “Megaform”)

Departments/Divisions are required to use the County’s megaform (ucnj.org/mega) for all requests.

This serves as OPI’s central intake process and gathers details, tracks timelines, and establishes a direct working relationship between the requestor and a member of OPI.

ADA Compliance

All materials released for public consumption must follow the County’s ADA Compliance for Creative Content Guide in order to conform to the legal requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

If you have any questions about this, specifically, please consult with a member of OPI, or contact Manuel Ramirez, the County’s ADA Compliance Officer at mramirez@ucnj.org.

Branding

All materials must have the required, proper branding, Board of Commissioners name, etc. Department and Division logos must NOT be larger than the County Seal.

If the subject of promotion is a County initiative, the language included must read “A Service of the Union County Board of County Commissioners.” If it is an external initiative that the County is somehow involved in, please see the Union County NJ Partner Branding

Click here for branding documentation more specific requirements.

Graphic Design

Any internal partner creating their own assets is responsible for ensuring it is in a format that is print-ready, if printed materials are required, including but not limited to creating design elements in vector format, creating versions of design elements with transparent backgrounds (“alpha”), ensuring consistency across color spaces, etc.

Any links must be indicated in text form. QR codes are permitted but must be in addition to, not instead of, text links. Use of short links is recommended for the purpose of optimizing user experience.

Images cannot appear pixelated at scale and do not represent Union County with regards to quality. When printing for large format such as plastic signage or banners, only high-resolution photography (short side side 3,000 pixels or greater) and vector files (point, line, curve, and shape data) should be used. Exporting a vector file (file extensions such as .eps, .svg, and .ai) does not necessarily mean that all of the data contained is a vector; if pixel data was used in the creation of a file, which data will remain as pixel data and will degrade at scale, even if it is saved as a vector.

If you have a design that you anticipate will be printed as a large format document, please work with Dave Pilmenstein in the Office of Public Information on quality control before sending it to the print/sign shop. The print/sign shop cannot guarantee that final products will appear in any condition other than the condition in which they were sent.

QR Codes

The Office of Public Information will also be working with Departments who are interested in incorporating QR Codes into their flyers, banners etc.

There is more of a need and a want for this, so we will work with anyone who wants to implement these and assist in the creation.

Non-Image Text (aka “Alt Descriptions”/“Alt Tags”)

Any image provided for the purposes of display on the County website must be sent along with a brief description of either the image or the key information expressed in the image. This ensures that OPI can accommodate viewers who use a screen reader, such as those who are blind or have low vision.

For example, “Holiday Tree Lighting – Wednesday, December 5th at Warinanco – Visit ucnj.org/registration $10 per person – Enjoy hot chocolate for our tree lighting, weather permitting.”

Website Management

Department staff are required to review their own websites working with the Office of Public Information and request timely updates as soon as possible. OPI will be the only office with edit permissions for the website.

Specific URLs that require updating must be indicated.

Departments/Divisions should be looking at their section a minimum of once a week.

Requesting graphics, press releases, etc. from OPI does not automatically trigger a website update; these must be noted.

All public events, flyers, programs and services must be on the department/divisions website. If something is not visible online, assume no one knows that it exists.

The Office of Public Information will work with each Department to designate a tech-savvy liaison to provide content from each Division/Office, etc. Providing complete ideas and up-to-date information will ensure the updates are done quickly and efficiently.

All website forms, including event registrations, must be created through the Office of Public Information. No department/division shall maintain their own separate form/registration software. This is to ensure proper capture, integrity, and consistency of data.

It is the expectation of the person providing website updates to provide them in an easy ‘copy and paste’ format.

It is the expectation of the employee providing website updates to include counsel, etc when applicable.

If an update or request that requires immediate attention, the employee should provide Public Information a heads up when possible so we are ready for it. (when possible, we know it can be unpredictable)

Social Media

No Department or Division should have their own social media page. We are one County and one team and OPI works hard to ensure all of the information we are disseminating is correct, timely and in line with our branding. If your department of division needs something posted to the community, we are happy to do so on our Union County Social Media pages.

We are continuing to revamp our entire social media presence with more videos, a variety of pictures (not just posed), native content upload, and more.

Please work with OPI to release content that is as engaging to the end user as possible, even if it sacrifices on something like word count.

Questions

Please reach out to Kelly Martins, Director of Public Information (ext. 4419) if you have any questions.