Pflugerville communications team outlines multilingual chatbot, website relaunch and new outreach strategy

The Pflugerville Equity Commission on Monday heard a presentation from the city communications team on plans to broaden outreach and improve multilingual access.

Angelique Romaine Duran, communications specialist for the City of Pflugerville, introduced the department’s five-part structure and said the team is preparing a website redesign scheduled for October that will include accessibility improvements and a chatbot intended to answer routine resident questions in multiple languages. "It will tell you, go pull in through the website and say, oh, this is where your trash delivery day is," Duran said, describing the bot’s practical use.

Commission members asked whether the chatbot and site would support multiple languages; staff confirmed the project aims to provide multilingual responses and to translate the site, and said they are testing technologies that can deliver responses in a user’s preferred language. Staff also described an integrated emergency-notification system: the city uses CivicPlus alerts (pltx.gov/pfalerts) and reported about 21,000 subscribers who receive texts and calls for weather, road closures and other urgent information.

The communications team said it will pursue a multi-channel strategy to reach different audiences: weekly e‑blasts and newsletters; vertical short-form video for social platforms; a monthly video update series on capital projects and bond-funded work; and a revamped public-access channel to appear on streaming platforms and YouTube. Staff said they also plan to amplify messages by featuring residents in short videos to increase peer sharing.

Commissioners and staff discussed timing and promotion: communications staff requested finalized listening-session dates by April 19 so promotional flyers, social posts and short videos can be scheduled in advance. The team said it is moving toward a six-month editorial calendar while retaining flexibility for immediate issues.

The presentation emphasized pairing high‑tech tools with in‑person outreach (churches, PTAs, community events) to reach residents who do not use digital channels. Staff noted that some outreach solutions being explored include text‑message integrations with platforms residents already use, such as WhatsApp, to reach Spanish‑speaking and other multilingual communities.

The commission closed the item with staff agreeing to provide visual handouts and sample text for the listening sessions so commissioners can review and approve promotional materials.

The commission did not take a formal vote on the communications program itself; staff will return with final dates and materials for upcoming listening sessions.