Town Government PSA
This piece was produced to inform and educate town residents about the need to invest in a new Department of Public Works facility. In the town of Duxbury, MA, large capital expenditures, like a new multi-million dollar DPW facility, require resident approval, through a vote on a warrant item, presented at an annual town meeting. This video was shared via a social campaign, in the months leading up to the vote.
Town and city Public Works Departments are charged with maintaining the status quo in a community, but because this important work is often out of public view, they can be taken for granted. A similar initiative, to replace the facility, had been rejected at a prior town meeting, so we had to work hard to help residents understand how the Department has a direct impact on their everyday lives, the potential consequences of not investing in the facility, and what the true cost of the investment would be, to individual property owners in the town.
We used interviews with the Town Manager and the Head of DPW, with b-roll footage of the existing facility and current works projects to establish the need. Custom motion graphics help viewers understand what a new facility would look like, and shed light on how property taxes would be affected. In the spirit of journalistic neutrality, the video tries to present the facts and details, letting the viewer draw their own conclusions. As such, the closing CTA is simply a reminder to come to the town meeting to vote.
The message had a direct impact on it’s audience, as voters approved the measure, and the town of Duxbury now has a brand-new, state of the art Public Works facility. This success lead me to work with other local towns, on similar video productions, including:
- Kingston, MA – Establish the need for a new, combined Fire / Police facility
- Carver, MA – Inform residents about an important public land sale that would result in more jobs and increased tax revenue