The Cure for Misinformation Isn’t More Posts
Maryland Heights proved showing up in person can do what social media can’t—build trust, understanding, and consent
Editor’s Note: This story is part of Beyond the Scroll: Conversations that Count—a Good Government Files series about what happens when local governments move beyond social-first strategies to rebuild trust. This installment shows how thoughtful, face-to-face communication changes outcomes.
After two failed elections, the odds were not in Maryland Heights’ favor.
The suburban St. Louis community had tried—twice—to pass a local use tax, a measure designed to collect the same rate on online and out-of-state purchases that residents already pay in local stores. It wasn’t a tax increase. But the issue was complicated, easily misunderstood, and ripe for rumor.
The first loss came by 34 votes. The second by 83.
Each time, the communications team followed the standard playbook—videos, newsletters, social posts, mailers—but the message didn’t stick.
“People just didn’t understand it,” Communications Manager Trisha Hall recalled. “They thought it meant everyone was getting a tax hike.”
The Pivot: From Prop U to Prop T
After the second defeat, the City Clerk and City Administrator made the call to try again—but differently. They retired “Prop U” and rebranded the measure as “Prop T,” tying the use tax directly to the city’s free trash service. It also created a foundation for a more transparent, service-focused conversation.
But the real shift came a few months later, during the mid-winter session of the Certified Public Communicator program at TCU. Hall attended my class, Effective Citizen Engagement Processes and Practices, which explored how cities can move from communication that merely informs to engagement that builds consent—a philosophy rooted in the Bleiker Life Preserver model.
That session sparked an idea.
At the time, Maryland Heights was considering hiring a marketing firm—an effort that would have cost more than $20,000—to manage the next campaign. Instead, Hall took what she learned in class to the City Administrator and proposed an alternative: a homegrown, citizen-focused strategy built on in-person Town Halls and information boards that could help residents understand not just the tax, but the bigger picture of city services.
The Administrator agreed. She had enough confidence in her communications team to let them lead the effort themselves.
“I don’t know if we would have won without taking a resident-focused strategy,” Hall said. “When I sat through that session, I thought, Oh my God, we can use this.”
The Strategy: Meeting Residents Where They Are
The breakthrough wasn’t a slogan or a post. It was a change in posture.
Rather than expect residents to come to City Hall, the city took City Hall to them. They hosted four Pop-Up Town Halls—two in coffee shops and two in schools.
The Communications team designed and produced the boards, pulling key data and stories from each department—with department heads reviewing and approving the final versions. The result was consistent graphic storytelling that connected residents to the city’s broader fiscal picture.
“It wasn’t just about Prop T,” Hall said. “We showed people everything else the city does well. It gave them context and trust.”
Among the most important boards was finance, followed by the Prop T display—complete with that memorable trash-can logo.
Those boards were displayed again at a St. Patrick’s Day luncheon at the senior center, where more than 250 residents browsed them. By the time they reached the final board—the one about the use tax—they’d already seen the bigger picture of fiscal responsibility and community services.
Next came the Mayor’s Breakfast, a $2,786 event that became a masterclass in transparency. Residents sent questions in advance; the mayor and staff answered them live, mic in hand—no lectern, no speeches.
“They heard their questions and our answers,” Hall said. “That’s how they knew we cared.”
The city also hosted a Virtual Town Hall that functioned more like an online Q&A than a live broadcast. The asynchronous format was intentional, favoring accuracy over spectacle.
When one question mentioned a dead tree at a school, Public Works planted a new one within a week—proof that listening leads to action.
While the City’s role remained strictly educational, a grassroots “Vote Yes” committee carried the message further. Their slogan—“Vote Yes on Prop T to Keep Your Trash Free”—was simple and effective. Hall credits the group for doing what the City couldn’t: actively campaign for the measure and reinforce the information shared at the Town Halls.
The Surprise: Empowerment Online
Residents who had attended the in-person events began defending the city online—posting clarifications in neighborhood groups, correcting misinformation, and encouraging others to attend town halls.
“It surprised me,” Hall said. “We’d see residents get online and explain what the use tax was. They became our voice.”
What had started as a strategy to educate became a process that empowered.
“You said in your session it’s not just about educating people but about empowering them,” Hall added. “That’s what happened—they felt confident enough to speak up.”
Screenshots from those Facebook threads—where residents calmly corrected misconceptions like “the casino pays for trash service”—tell the story better than any infographic could.
The city’s critics were still there, but now they weren’t the only voices.
The Verdict: From Confusion to Consent
After two losses, the third time wasn’t just a win—it was a landslide that reshaped not only one ballot measure but the city’s approach to trust.
“It made us realize how much people value being listened to,” she said. “It wasn’t just a campaign about taxes—it became a campaign about trust.”
The city learned to see engagement not as an event, but as an ongoing practice.
Lessons for Leadership
Start with mission. Connect the issue to residents’ lived experience.
Meet people in person. Complexity doesn’t scale online, but clarity does when it’s face-to-face.
Empower to persuade. When residents feel respected and informed, they’ll often make—and share—the case for you.
Visualize the story. Show the full picture of city services before talking about costs.
Follow through. Listening only matters if people see you act.
“When residents see you listening—and acting—they’ll defend you online. That’s when you know trust is working.” — Trisha Hall
A Conversation That Counted
Maryland Heights didn’t win because of a clever slogan or a viral post. They won by practicing the oldest form of communication—talking face-to-face.
Bleiker Training taught me years ago that citizen participation isn’t about winning arguments; it’s about the systematic development of informed consent.
Onward and Upward.