Plum officials counting on a new website, PR company to get more info to the public

Plum officials have updated their website and hired a public relations consultant in an effort to get more information out to residents.

The new website, which has the same address — www.plumboro.com — launched earlier this month.

Council voted 5-0 on March 11 to hire Carrie Lewis DelRosso LLC as its consultant. Council Vice President David Seitz and Councilman John Anderson were absent.

Borough Manager Michael Thomas said Massachusetts-based company Virtual Towns & Schools used to manage the borough site. That company was bought by CivicPlus, who redesigned the site.

He said the project, which cost about $5,000, made everything more user-friendly.

“We’ve really made a commitment this year to resident education, promotion and marketing,” Thomas said. “We have InPlum Magazine we’re doing quarterly. We got a new website. We have a lot of good things going on, and we want to make sure the community knows about it. There’s so much about Plum people don’t know.

A borough calendar is on the left side of the website’s main page. People can click on individual events for more information. It’s powered by Savvy Citizen, a mobile app and website used to notify residents of municipal information.

There are links to council agendas and meeting minutes from 2013 to present.

The borough logo and slogan, “Live the Boro Life,” is predominantly featured at the top of the page.

A BoroTV tab is in the works. It’s expected to feature videos and a show schedule from PVN Productions, the official production company of Plum and run by resident Vince Lagrotteria.

“We’re still in the process of doing this,” Thomas said about the website. “We will continue to try and make it more user-friendly and make it more useful. The last thing we want is for people to come to our website and can’t find the things they need to find.”

The public relations firm hired by the borough is run by Carrie DelRosso, an Oakmont councilwoman and Riverview School District’s communications specialist.

“I welcome the opportunity to provide consultant services to thriving communities and/or businesses,” DelRosso said. “My proposal plan is to work with Plum’s borough management and council to provide communication over a vast population.”

Councilman Paul Dern said DelRosso approached the borough about providing the service, and believes having a professional communicator will benefit Plum.

“We need to do a better job of getting information out to people,” Dern said. “We’re trying to get topics out there that people really misunderstand or don’t fully understand … We want a positive spin on things we’re doing in the borough.”

Thomas said the proposal is a one-year deal with DelRosso for at least 6 1/2 hours a week at $65 per hour. He said there is not a set work schedule and the consulting service will be on an as-needed basis.