The City of Calgary launches Action Plan 2015 – 2018 citizen engagement from March 3 – 21, 2104
Today, public engagement launched for Action Plan 2015 – 2018. The City of Calgary Action Plan is a year-long process during which citizens, City Council and City staff establish our direction and find the right balance between investing in quality public service and keeping tax rates affordable.
“Starting March 3, Action Plan is going to where the people are – attending public spaces like malls, dog parks, recreation facilities, and farmers markets. At least one on-the-ground engagement opportunity is planned for every Ward in Calgary during this period,” said Action Plan Program Manager Sarah Woodgate – indicating that public engagement is just one step in a year-long process.
Over 20 public engagement events will take place between March 3 and 20, with the Take Action bus visiting communities across the city, as well as events in various public locations. For a full list of events, please visit calgary.ca/actionplan.
The input received from the public will help Council and City departments understand what Calgarians value most and what priorities The City should focus on over the next four years.
“The best decisions come from having the best information,” said Mayor Naheed Nenshi. “And citizen input is one of the best sources of information we can get. This is a great chance for all Calgarians to tell us what they want us to focus on for the next four years.”
The City of Calgary is encouraging citizens to visit the Action Plan 2015 – 2018 website and participate through online engagement tools from March 3 to 21, 2014:
- Budget Simulator: citizens consider City services and make some tough choices on spending priorities, based on the impacts to service that each scenario presents.
- Priorities tool: citizens tell us what important priorities The City should focus on for the next four years.
- Discussion Forum: an open forum, where citizens can submit ideas, comments and thoughts on City spending, priorities, budget, or anything else. Fellow citizens can comment and vote on any of the submitted ideas, or start a new discussion thread themselves.
The Action Plan 2015 – 2018 website also offers information regarding the Action Plan 2015 – 2018 process, budget facts and figures on City revenues and expenditures, and highlights of the services we offer to citizens every day. We will continue to update calgary.ca/actionplan throughout the entire Action Plan 2015 – 2018 process.
In November of 2013, City Council approved an outcome focused, comprehensive engagement program as part of Action Plan 2015 – 2018. The goals of the engagement program are to:
- Create awareness and understanding of city services and how citizen tax dollars are used to provide those services,
- Connect and engage with citizens to gather feedback through in-person events and online tools,
- Create qualitative information to be reviewed and considered by Council as they create strategic priorities and by City Administration as they create business plans and budgets,
- Allow citizen feedback on the draft City of Calgary Action Plan 2015 – 2018 in November 2014, before Council begins their deliberations.
Citizen engagement is a key input into Action Plan 2015 - 2018. A detailed summary of all ideas and suggestions will be given to Council and City departments for consideration in developing Council priorities, business plans and budgets. As well, a summary of citizen engagement will be announced publicly in April and shared on the Action Plan 2015 – 2018 website in May.