City seeks citizen input on business planning and budget cycle

The City of Calgary has released an online survey to obtain input from Calgarians on changes to the business planning and budgeting process.

 

The City is looking for input to the development of recommendations on the timing and duration of the multi-year planning and budgeting process. This is an extension of the dialogue The City conducted on business plans and budgets with the “Our City. Our Budget. Our Future.” Program.

 

The City of Calgary currently has a three-year business plan and budget cycle, which has aligned with City Council’s three-year election cycle, and is based on citizen input and Council direction.

 

The Alberta Government recently passed legislation to amend the Municipal Government Act to change municipal council terms from three to four years in length.

 

With the change in Council terms to four years, The City of Calgary would like to hear from citizens to develop recommendations on the timing and duration of The City’s multi-year business plans and budgets. These recommendations will be considered by Council in April 2013.

 

The rationale for multi-year business plans and budgets has been to improve the City’s ability to implement longer-term plans based on the certainty that resources (dollars, people, and partnerships) have been committed. The longer-term view links business plans and budgets with the strategic priorities of Council and Calgarians, and helps control changes in spending plans. The multi-year cycle also provides a measure of certainty for citizens in terms of what they can expect in future property tax rates and user fees.

 

The City started this three-year process in 2006, and has been awarded the Government Finance Officers Association Distinguished Budget Presentation Award for all three of its 3-year plans.

 

Citizens are encouraged to go to www.calgary.ca/ourfuture to learn more about the multi-year planning and budgeting process, view preliminary options, discuss or share ideas, and complete our short survey.

 

The survey will be open until the end of day February 15, to allow Calgarians to provide their input. Citizen feedback will be shared with both Council and Administration to aid in deciding on a new business planning and budgeting process to support a four-year Council term.

 

The City will continue to provide updates as decisions are made throughout 2013.

 

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