(Calgary) Many Calgarians feel that The City’s engagement and communication with citizens is lacking, and Communities First (CF) candidates in the October municipal election are committed to prioritizing fixing these problems.
This commitment will build on an initiative by CF Councillor and Ward 7 candidate Terry Wong, following last year’s blanket rezoning Public Hearing. Approved by Council, Wong’s Notice of Motion called for an independent audit of The City’s engagement practices to improve the process impartiality, accountability and transparency.
“The blanket rezoning engagement was a real eye-opener to many of the problems with The City’s engagement process,” said Wong. “So many Calgarians had very thoughtful and constructive comments and suggestions yet didn’t feel these were reflected in the outcome. That needs to change. We need measurable outcomes reported to citizens on each engagement.”
The root of the problem lies with leadership rather than the skills of the people talking to Calgarians. The perspective from CF candidates is that the senior administration’s direction is more focused on “informing” and selling ideas rather than meaningfully “engaging” with citizens.
“Engagement with citizens needs to be genuine,” said CF mayoral candidate Sonya Sharp. “You need to be prepared to hear the good, the bad, and the ugly about any proposal. You can’t be afraid to hear negative feedback because that will help you make an idea better, or if the feedback is really bad, it will tell you to throw it out altogether.”
The Communities First October platform also includes reviewing The City’s communications for efficiency and effectiveness.
Rather than empowering existing staff with the tools and support they need to do their jobs effectively, Administration keeps adding layers of bureaucracy and approvals that get in the way of clear, compelling and timely communication with Calgarians.
Ward 1 CF candidate Kim Tyers says she’s hearing much about City communications at the doors. “Ward 1 has been through a lot over the past year or so. We’ve experienced the most intense densification of any established community ward, and the water main feeder break last summer and ongoing water main breaks since have really pointed out some of the shortfalls of the City’s communications efforts. We’re going to make this better.”
The City’s current model for communications staff has them mostly sprinkled throughout the corporation in various departments, making financial oversight and coordination difficult. The review proposed by Communities First is intended to address this, improving efficiency, effectiveness and management.
“City Administration has hundreds of communications staff; dozens dedicated to Calgary.ca alone. Yet the mayor has spent an additional $150,000 over the past year for her own website and strategic communications advice,” said Sonya Sharp. “If what The City is doing isn’t effective, then fix it; don’t spend more tax dollars to try to work around it. If I’m elected mayor in October, we’re going to fix it and, in the process, save taxpayers a few dollars and communicate as a city better.”
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