City communications chief reports social‑media gains and says 3‑1‑1 handled nearly 80,000 calls in 2025

Tony Martinez, the city’s chief communication marketing officer, told the Committee of the Whole the communications department posted audience growth across platforms in 2025 and improved the city’s 3‑1‑1 response metrics.

“We had almost 80,000 inbound calls,” Martinez said, and added the system now handles about 325 calls per day on average. “The average wait time is 20 seconds,” he said, down from a little over 40 seconds before the 3‑1‑1 launch. Martinez said more than 18,000 service requests were generated and closed in the city’s case-management software in 2025.

Martinez described increases in reach and engagement on Facebook, YouTube and newer channels such as Twitch and Nextdoor, and credited the gains to more targeted messaging and short video content. He said the department tracked 587 media mentions last year and reported a media coverage value "just shy of $400,000,000," which he framed as the estimated cost to purchase equivalent advertising time.

Martinez also highlighted outreach tools that let staff target messages to specific wards and neighborhoods through Nextdoor, and said ACTV launched a YouTube channel for longer-format programming produced in the city’s 5th Floor studio.

The presentation included event and scholarship notices: Martinez urged council members to attend a community meet‑and‑greet tied to Black History Month and reminded students about the CalHert scholarship deadline listed on the city website as February 10.

The Committee did not move any policy items out of the presentation; the communications update was provided for informational purposes and no vote was recorded on the report.