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San Bernardino is leaning towards putting one person in charge of its communications efforts rather than hire a public relations firm to serve in that capacity, according to a well-placed source.
The city, which is currently debating how it can best present itself to the public, accepted bids in October from seven public relations firms, several of which are based in the Inland Empire.
However, city officials now favor making an individual hire, and one applicant reportedly has emerged as the frontrunner to fill the position: Monica Lagos, currently a senior account executive with Westbound Communications, according to a city council member who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Lagos once worked with the city as a volunteer in its community development department and built a solid reputation while there, the councilman stated.
Neither Lagos nor officials with Orange County-based Westbound Communications returned telephone calls today seeking comment.
Lagos’ LinkedIn page reports that she has been a senior account executive with the marketing and advertising firm for seven months. Before that she held various sales and marketing positions, including an account executive in charge of multicultural sales and marketing with National Cable Communications and Coordinator of Affiliate Marketing with E! Entertainment Television.
Lagos also studied at USC’s Marshall School of Business from 1993 to 1998 and graduated from Alta Loma High School in 1993, according to LinkedIn.
Last month, council members balked at hiring Tripepi Smith, a marketing and communications firm in Irvine, in part because no one there speaks Spanish. The two-year contract would have been worth $215,000.
On Monday, City Manager Alan Parker is expected to ask the council to create an in-house “manager of communications” position that would be in place by May 1. The job would pay between $106,200 and $129,084 annually, according to a report in the San Bernardino County Sun.
Parker told the Sun that he plans to hire a San Bernardino resident who speaks Spanish and has at least 16 years experience in public relations.
Public information officials usually specialize in media or community outreach, so it’s difficult to find one person who is skilled at both, said David Wert, San Bernardino County’s public information officer.
There’s also no formula for how much experience is needed to fill such a position.
“That all depends on the job and what you’re trying to accomplish,” Wert said. “From what I’ve read, San Bernardino is looking for someone to explain its bankruptcy plan to the community, so I would probably go looking for someone with a strong journalism background. But it’s really difficult to say.”
