City's new communications manager begins job
May 3—Decatur's new communications manager, Samantha Magnuson, knows she has a big job ahead of her.
Magnuson started with Decatur on Monday, filling a position that's been vacant since 2022.
"It's exciting to really build a department and create a strategy for our communications," Magnuson said Thursday during a meeting with staff at The Decatur Daily. "What I've seen in my experience is a lot of municipalities don't have a plan quite established."
When asked about her initial priority, Mayor Tab Bowling laughed and said, "Which one?"
Bowling said he knows City Hall has a lot of communication needs as Magnuson comes in during a controversial period. Her hire was almost a direct result of criticism the city received in recent years for its communications and public relations.
The city's last communications person left almost three years ago, and city leaders chose to fill this gap without a full-time employee. They hired Steve Garner's Do It with You Marketing company on an independent contract of $1,300 a month, or $15,600 a year, to handle its social media posts.
Garner's contract was month-to-month, which Bowling said ended Wednesday with Magnuson's hire.
After paying Ellen Didier's Red Sage Marketing $168,000 a year to do the "Positively Decatur" marketing campaign, the City Council approved in November a $200,000 per year contract extension to continue the campaign.
The city hired an interim communications person, Tim Hall, of Tim Hall Communications, in June on a six-month contract. When the contract ended in November, Hall recommended before leaving that the city make it a full-time position. The council approved in December upgrading the PR person to a manager-level position.
Human Resources Director Richelle Sandlin said Magnuson's starting annual salary is $94,713.
Magnuson said Bowling's "broad" instruction as she gets started "is to help manage the message that goes out from City Hall."
Magnuson said her top priority is building community trust, especially relating to the fatal police shooting of Steve Perkins and the death of John Scott Jr. after an arrest.
"We are all aware of the events that have been happening," she said. "So now we want to make sure that people understand those who work in Decatur City Hall are truly public servants and they want the best for the city. Building that relationship is a priority."
A University of North Alabama graduate, Magnuson, 35, has been in the media business for 14 years. She started at the WHNT television station in various roles, including producer. She then worked for eight years as the city of Madison's communications manager.
She said she has been hired to improve all of the city's communications platforms, whether digital or interpersonal. The city website is going to be a primary project that she'll be working to improve.
"We want to make sure that is a window to the world and a connection for Decatur residents," Magnuson said. "And we also want to tell Decatur's story and make sure we showcase the great things that are going on in this city. We have to make sure the website is up to date and be that portal of information."
Magnuson said she also wants to be a bridge between media and the city.
"I've worked in media and news, so I know that it's a tough gig," she said.
Magnuson and her husband, Doug, have two children. He works at Fresenius Kidney Care on Spring Avenue Southwest.
— bayne.hughes@decaturdaily.com or 256-340-2432
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