08-006_Public Engagement Policy & Guidelines_20218-006
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MEDIA AND PUBLIC RELATIONS
Policy 8 -006: Public Engagement Policy
Approval Date: February 9, 2015
Approval Authority: Council, By-Law 3880
Effective Date: February 9, 2015
Next Scheduled Review Year: 2025
Department: Office of the Clerk
Last reviewed: 2021
Revision Date/s:
Schedules:
POLICY STATEMENT
Public engagement is a critical component of a strong and healthy municipal
government. This policy aims to empower citizens through active participation in the
decision-making process.
PURPOSE
The Town of Tillsonburg is committed to ensure community stakeholders are engaged
in the municipal decision-making process. This policy is to provide guidance and advice
to staff when addressing new and existing challenges in the community.
SCOPE
This policy is to be used by all staff when initiating a new project or reacting to an issue
with the Town of Tillsonburg. Discretion and consideration should be exercised by staff
when evaluating the appropriateness of the guidelines with any given project of public
interest.
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GENERAL
This policy shall be administered by department heads and managers of the Town of
Tillsonburg.
This policy shall be referred to as the “Public Engagement Policy”. This policy comes
into force and effect on the date adopted.
AUTHORITY
Administrative changes to the Guidelines will be at the discretion of the CAO and Senior
Management.
POLICY
The guiding principles of the policy are:
1. Inclusivity & Respect for Diverse Interests
2. Accountability
3. Transparency
4. Collaboration & Shared Purpose
5. Open Communication
6. Shared Information
7. Continuous Improvement
IMPLEMENTATION PROCEDURE
Vision and Guiding Principals
Every day, municipal staff make decisions in the best interests of the community. Some
decisions are routine in nature and are considered part of daily operations, such as
prioritizing what lawn is cut first. Other decisions are not considered routine, and require
careful consideration amongst staff, Council, stakeholders, industry experts, and most
importantly, the community.
The Town of Tillsonburg strives to ensure that the public is involved in all aspects of
developing a safe, healthy and happy community. As a result, this guideline has been
developed to provide staff with a set of core principles and objectives when initiating a
project within the community. Finally, these guidelines have been developed by
adapting the International Association for Public Participation’s Spectrum of Public
Participation.
Vision
A town where citizens and stakeholders are encouraged to become engaged within the
municipal decision-making process through an inclusive, collaborative, mutually
meaningful and co-operative relationship.
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Guiding Principles
The guiding principle of this strategy outlines a series of core competencies that the
Town of Tillsonburg endorses and actively promotes throughout all stages of the
municipal decision-making process. By promoting these principles throughout the
decision-making process the Town of Tillsonburg will foster a greater sense of
community-ownership amongst residents, key community stakeholders, and citizens-at-
large. The guiding principles are as follows:
1. Inclusivity & Respect for Diverse Interests
2. Accountability
3. Transparency
4. Collaboration & Shared Purpose
5. Open Communication
6. Shared Information
7. Continuous Improvement
Part 1 – Getting Started
Developing a clear plan and asking a few key questions at the beginning will help
ensure a meaningful public involvement process with measurable outcomes. It should
be drafted for projects that are more than one-time events and involve a variety of
stakeholders with different objectives and needs.
Remember, your plan will help direct how often to contact your stakeholders and with
what information. Defining the project scope upfront will allow everyone involved to stay
within a defined framework, work together towards a shared common goal, and ensure
objectives are met.
The plan should include:
1. The goals of the public involvement project
2. The stakeholders that need to be involved
3. How you will reach and encourage participation from the stakeholders
4. A detailed critical path/work plan that outlines roles and responsibilities
5. A financial budget that includes all expenses related to the project
What is the goal?
What are you hoping to achieve from involving the public? Do you want to:
• Identify who cares about what?
• Build co-operative working relationships?
• Clarify points of agreement and disagreement?
• Promote positive attitudes towards ongoing programs and policies?
• Provide accurate information about activities and plans?
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• Hear interests and concerns early, before they escalate?
• Gather a wide range of options for solving problems or improving services?
• Meet challenges?
• Reduce the likelihood of delays in implementing new initatives?
• Develop better solutions?
Who are your stakeholders?
Potential stakeholders may include:
• Community associations and neighbourhood organizations
• Special interest groups
• Town boards
• Chairs of advisory committees or entire advisory committees
• Councillors
• Civic partners
• Local governments
• Provincial government
• Federal government
• Political leaders
• Internal stakeholders
• Non-government organizations (NGOs)
• Charities and service clubs
• Sports and recreation groups
• Business leaders and business associations
• Umbrella organizations
• Landowners and residents
• The silent majority
• Churches and religious groups
• Local schools/educational institutions
Of this list, it is important to consider those who may be less inclined to participate, the
silent majority. Developing techniques to reach out to this less than active group can
reduce the risk of alienating a large group of citizens who may not feel as comfortable
engaging in the larger discussion.
What is the timeline?
In most cases, the earlier you involve the public in the process, the better the outcome
will be. Be sure to establish reasonable and respectful deadlines for internal and
external stakeholders whenever possible.
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How much is it going to cost?
It is extremely important to clearly outline any possible costs associated with your public
involvement project. Time, people, resources, travel costs, rentals, disbursements,
collateral, outsourced materials and consultants, etc. should all be part of your project
budget.
Part 2 – Define your Strategy
What level of involvement should you choose?
Public involvement will not be the same for every initiative. In fact, it’s important that
decisions about how best to involve the community are based on the project or initiative.
Less involvement is appropriate when:
• Interest in the policy issue is vested in one or a few interest groups
• Perspectives are generally well understood and can be taken into
consideration
• The policy issue demands consistency with established professional or
technical standards
• Legislative guidelines define and/or limit the level of public involvement
More involvement is appropriate when:
• Several groups have an interest in the outcome of the issue
• Consensus among these groups is weak and uncertain
• The policy issue is value based and carries a high need for social acceptance
After, identifying the scope of the project, it is important to correctly determine what level
of public involvement will achieve your desired goals.
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Inform
To provide the public with balanced and objective information to assist them in
understanding the problem, alternatives, opportunities and/or solutions.
Consult
To obtain public feedback on analysis, alternatives and/or decisions.
Involve
To work directly with the public throughout the process to ensure that public concerns
and aspirations are consistently understood and considered.
Collaborate
To partner with the public in each aspect of the decision including the development of
alternatives and the identification of the preferred solution.
Empower
To place final decision-making in the hands of the public.
How much involvement is required depends on the issue and your desired outcomes.
It’s important to remember the strategies don’t typically work independently – a
combined approach will undoubtedly yield the best results.
The following factors can help determine which level of involvement is most suitable for
a given project:
• Policy/statutory requirements
• Nature, complexity and risk associated with issues
• Timelines
• Financial implications
• In-house expertise
• Level of support/consensus from stakeholders/partners
• Level of influence the participants expect to have
• Level of support from departmental and political decision-makers
To ensure an appropriate cross-section of opinion is obtained, you might choose a
survey for one group and an information session for another, along with a small task
force established with representative members. These techniques or others could be
the mix you choose to reach and involve the most appropriate audience. A variety of
these techniques will help balance the tendency for any particular stakeholders to
dominate.
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Four Strategies of Public Engagement
To assist staff with correctly identifying an appropriate path to engage and inform the
public, this guide also provides four strategies based on the desired goals of public
participation. These four strategies include:
1. Inform (day-to-day)
2. Inform (specific)
3. Involve, Consult, Collaborate
4. Empower
Through use of the four strategies provided, staff have the ability to gage the nature of
the issue, determine the level of public participation and obtain a clear understanding of
standard practices of informing the public. As such, the four pre-designed strategies
attempt to reduce the risk of miscommunication and encourage clear, consistent and
timely notice from the Town. Recognizing that no two situations are the same, staff are
encouraged to merge categories or go above-and-beyond in their efforts to involve the
public in the governing process.
What strategy will you use?
Preview the list of public engagement strategies found in the “Tools and Samples”
portion of this guide and depending on the scope of your project, your objectives,
timelines and budget, there are a number of ways to increase public participation in your
process.
Part 3 – Implement your Plan
Now that you have developed your goals, identified key stakeholders, and selected a
public engagement strategies all the pieces should come together in a roll-out plan,
including timelines. All the techniques outlined in your strategy are developed and
distributed, surveys are created and managed, facilities are booked, events are co-
ordinated and feedback is received and analyzed.
There are many ways that staff can provide the public with opportunities to have their
voice heard. Options include:
• Making contact information for appropriate staff and councillors readily
available
• Posting up-to-date and easy-to-find information on the Town’s website
• Ensuring easy and quick access to documents, reports and information
citizens can use to educate themselves
• Allowing the public to have early, meaningful input on key issues and projects
• Creating opportunities to see their input appear in feedback papers and
reports
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• Creating opportunities to see their input help shape decisions and influence
changes in policy and project direction.
Part 4 – Reporting and Follow-up
Reporting and follow-up with stakeholders in the community is key to ensuring that the
project wraps up without questions or concerns. Follow-up allows for staff to evaluate
whether the involvement process was successful in balancing the needs and wants of
the community (and stakeholders) and the ultimate goals of the Town. Similarly, this is a
critical stage in ensuring the public knows their voices were heard.
When conducting follow-up and reporting of the project, consider the following points as
a guide:
• Acknowledge the participants who gave generously of their time, energy and
expertise
• Acknowledge participant contributions
• Provide a record of the involvement process
• Report on how the process reflects the Town’s commitments
• Report on how the process reflects the Guiding Principles of this document
• Demonstrate that participants have been heard
• Provide an outline of decisions made
• Provide a record of how the final decisions were reached
• Advise participants when an outcome is expected
• Complete a “You said, We did” form Any report back to Council should
include:
• The results of the community involvement process
• Background information on the objectives of the involvement
• Defining the process used to involve the public
• Follow-up action taken
• Budgetary implications
• Outline of the next steps of the project
Town of Tillsonburg Public Engagement Guidelines Tools
Tools Content
1. Strategies for Public Engagement
• Strategy 1 – Inform (day-to-day)
• Strategy 2 – Inform (specific )
• Strategy 3 – Involve, Consult, Collaborate
• Strategy 4 – Empower
2. Strategies 1-4 Matrix
3. Public Engagement Templates
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Strategy 1 – Inform (day-to-day)
• General non-arterial road maintenance (day long maximum)
• Service maintenance (i.e., repairing an elevator, fixing a staircase, etc.)
• Service disruptions or office/building closure
• New recreational programs
• Service disruptions
Objective
To provide the public with balanced and objective information to assist them in
understanding the problem alternatives, opportunities and/or solutions. Seeks to solely
inform the public and key stakeholders.
Public Engagement
In general, staff should use the Strategy 1 – Inform of Public Engagement to inform the
public of general day-to-day operations. Such operations should be limited to no impact
on residential daily activities and should be routine in nature. Due to the nature of this
strategy of public engagement, there is little need to involve the public in the decision-
making or planning process.
Simply put, the goal of Strategy 1 is to inform the public of general maintenance to the
community. The public should be informed of when the maintenance will occur, how
long it will take, the geographic location, and the reason why the work is being
completed. Understandably, there is no need to engage the public with mundane day-
to-day functions of the municipality.
Notice
In all Strategy 1 – Inform cases, notice should be provided to the public at least 7 days
prior to any planned work being completed. In these situations, staff are expected to
reach out to the public via traditional communication mediums, including use of the
Town website, local newspaper, social media, and in limited circumstances notice to
Council.
Strategy 2 – Inform (specific)
• General non-arterial road maintenance (lasting longer than a day)
• Major arterial road maintenance (lasting longer than a day)
• Minor changes on municipal property that may affect adjacent property
owners
Objective
To provide the public with balanced and objective information to assist them in
understanding the problem alternatives, opportunities and/or solutions. Seeks to solely
inform the public and key stakeholders.
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Public Engagement
Strategy 2 – Inform is best used when a particular issue will affect a relatively small
number of residents or a small geographic location. While the issue or project may be
considered as routine in nature, there will be a slight impact on a particular community,
which may impact the day-to-day activities of citizens. While little public engagement is
considered, staff should make a conscious effort to ensure residents and business
owners are well aware of timelines and possible delays in their daily activities.
Still, the objective of Strategy 2 – Inform is not to consult, involve or collaborate with the
public, but rather to share information to satisfy any possible omissions of public notice.
Ideally, staff should engage in face-to-face communication with the limited number of
residents and business owners who may be effected.
Similar to Strategy 1 – Inform, use of traditional communication mediums should be
utilized, such as the Town website, local newspaper, social media, written notices, and
in limited circumstances notice to Council. Particular attention should be provided to
effectively communicate any possible issues that may delay the day-to-day activities of
citizens and business.
Notice
In all Strategy 2 – Inform cases, notice should be issued at least 14 days prior to the
project start date. In such cases, staff are expected to actively notify citizens and
business leaders who may be directly affected by the project. Notification is suggested
via verbal face-to-face communication, as well as issuing written notices that include the
project scope and details.
Strategy 3 – Involve, Consult, Collaborate
• Making changes to cultural or historically significant municipal “treasures”
• Selling of municipal assets
• Development or redevelopment of municipal lands
• Planning of celebrations
Objective
To obtain public feedback on analysis, alternatives and/or decisions. To work directly
with the public throughout the process to ensure that public concerns and aspirations
are consistently understood and considered. To partner with the public in each aspect of
the decision including the development of alternatives and the identification of the
preferred solution. Seeks to consult, involve or collaborate with the community and key
stakeholders.
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Public Engagement
Strategy 3 – Involve, Consult and Collaborate process promotes a significantly more
proactive approach to public engagement. This Strategy of public engagement should
be used for high priority issues that will affect a large number of individuals in the
community. Strategy 3 public engagement covers issues that may be considered
contentious in the community. When in doubt, department Directors and the CAO
should be consulted for guidance.
Similarly, Strategy 3 public engagement covers issues that may impact the health and
safety of members of the public, or interrupt day-to-day living in the Town. Depending
on the issue or project, staff may be required to consult the public, which includes
receiving feedback, analysis, and providing alternatives to the community.
In these situations, the public is to be given an opportunity to preview any proposed
plans or options, and submit questions or comments to staff. As a recommended option,
staff should make themselves available to the public via information sessions.
Information sessions should be well advertised, timely, and accessible to all citizens.
Special attention should be made to ensure all relevant material is distributed or made
available to the public prior to the open house. Additionally, staff should be made
available at any public information session to record questions or comments the public
may have.
Notice
In all Strategy 3 – Involve, Consult and Collaborate cases, notice should be issued at
least 30 days prior to the project start date. In such cases, the need for active
participation by the public is of utmost importance. Staff are expected to actively notify
citizens and business leaders who may be directly affected by the project. Notification is
suggested which utilises multiple communication techniques as outline under the Public
Engagement Spectrum.
Strategy 4 – Empower
• General Municipal Election
• Referendum or “Question on a ballot”
• Ballots
• Delegated decision-making
Objective
To place final decision-making in the hands of the public. Seeks to empower the
community and key stakeholders.
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Public Engagement
Strategy 4 – Empower is significantly different than the other levels of public
engagement. Here, we see the decision-making power shifted from Council and staff to
the people. In these situations, the public are directly and solely responsible for making
the decision. Good examples of empowerment include referendums or “questions on
the ballot”, elections, or delegated decision-making.
In practice, the ability to empower the people falls within the responsibility and the
power of Council. Naturally, Council and its members are the chief decision-makers
within the Town. As a result, Council must relinquish its decision-making autonomy to
the people. In many cases, legislative.
When using empowerment as a form of public engagement, special consideration
should be given to providing all the appropriate information in a timely manner. The
public should be given at least 30 days to review all applicable documentation.
Notice
In all Strategy 4 – Involve, Empower cases, notices should be issued at least 30 days
prior to the project start date. Empower notices are legislated under the Municipal
Elections Act. In such cases, there are very specific notice requirements for any use of
“Question on the ballot”. The same can be said for calling a referendum, which requires
Council’s support and initiation.
Still, some techniques like delegated decision-making do not have a set of legislated
guidelines, meaning professional discretion must be used. Where Council has
delegated the authority to make a decision to another body (a task-force or Council
Committee), ample time should be given to provide for consideration of the issue.
Public Engagement Tools
Fact Sheets
Intended for information dissemination among the community. Fact sheets indicate a
problem statement, all known relevant information, financial statements/projections, and
the contact information for the applicable staff. Fact sheets can be produced as a
proactive or reactive approach to a given issue. May be used to correct misinformation
being shared among citizens.
Website
Intended for information dissemination among the community on a given issue.
Websites can indicate a problem statement, all known relevant information, financial
statements/projections, and the contact information for the applicable staff. Unlike Fact
Sheets, the website can be used to attach large PDF documents that are impractical for
printing.
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Surveys
Surveys can be used to gauge public opinion. Surveys should be clear and concise, and
include standard scaling(i.e. 1-5). Surveys should be accompanied by a Fact Sheet.
Includes predetermined answers for given questions.
Deliberative Polling (sampling)
Similar to surveys, deliberative polling (or sampling) gauges public opinion on a given
issue. The typical deliberative opinion poll takes a random, representative sample of
citizens and engages them in deliberation on a current issue. Choosing a random,
representative group of citizens allows for an accurate reflection of public opinion. This
can be done easily by sending staff into the public to engage in conversation with
random citizens. Should also be accompanied by a Fact Sheet.
Public Comment Forms
Similar to surveys, public comment forms gauge public opinion on an issue. Unlike
surveys, public comment forms do not need to include predetermined answers to a
question. The focus of public comment forms is to receive the exclusive opinions of the
public in a greater level of detail. Public comment forms should be accompanied by a
Fact Sheet.
Council Advisory Committees
The Town of Tillsonburg has a variety of Council Advisory Committees that should be
consulted when deliberating on an issue facing the community. Many of the Committees
can be used to address specific concerns with a Town initiative, policy, or issue. For
instance, where possible the Accessibility Advisory Committee should be consulted
when moderations are made to Town facilities (buildings, parks, etc.). Similarly, the
Heritage, Beautification and Cemetery Committee should be consulted when changes
are proposed to Town assets that may be viewed as historically or culturally significant.
Staff should consider consulting at least one committee when addressing a large issue.
Information Session
An information session provides an opportunity for staff to showcase the history or
background of a given issue, and usually provides various options or solutions to the
issue. Information sessions should be well organized and provide an opportunity to
receive feedback from the public. Notice is essential to ensure the public has ample
time to prepare and schedule for the session (complaints are always received that staff
do not provide enough notice for any kind of meeting, so advance notice is key).
Workshops
Workshops should be used when there are broad arrays of possible outcomes. A good
example of when a workshop works best is redesigning a public space, or planning a
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new public building. Workshops encourage citizens to be part of the planning process
and explicitly request public input before making a decision.
Focus Groups
Focus groups provide an opportunity for the public to voice their opinions and attitudes
towards a specific issue. Questions are asked in an interactive group setting where
participants are free to talk with other members. The advantage of focus groups is the
relatively low cost and quick method to gauge public opinions. In some situations, focus
groups do not require fact sheets, as the staff can propose hypothetical questions to the
group prior to taking on a project or an initiative.
Sample Content
1. Sample Facts Sheet
2. Sample Public Notice
3. Sample “You said, we did”
4. Sample Budget Consideration Form
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Types of Public
Engagement
Goal(s) Public Notice
Options
Timeframe of
Public
Notification
Suggested
methods of
Public
Engagement Strategy 1 – for
issues or initiatives
that are low priority,
have a limited
community affect,
considered “routine”
in nature, and affect
a limited group of
residents.
To provide the
public with
balanced and
objective
information to
assist them in
understanding
the problem
alternatives,
opportunities
and/or solutions.
Seeks to solely
inform the public
and key
stakeholders.
Recommended
tools for notice:
Mailed letters
Emails to
stakeholders
Town website
Social media
7 Days Fact sheets
Website
Social Media
Strategy 2 – for
issues or initiatives
that are low priority,
are
considered “routine”
in nature, affects a
greater number of
To provide the
public with
balanced and
objective
information to
assist them in
understanding
Recommended
tools for notice:
Mailed letters
Emails to
stakeholders
T b it
Fact sheets
Website
Public comment
forms
Open houses
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Strategy 3 – for
issues or initiatives
that are high
priority,
affects a great
number of citizens
in the community, is
controversial, and
impacts the health
and/or public safety
of the community. Is
not considered
“routine” in nature.
Consult: To
obtain public
feedback on
analysis,
alternatives
and/or decisions.
Involve: To work
directly with the
public throughout
the process to
ensure that public
Recommended
tools for notice:
Mailed letters
Emails to
stakeholders
Town website
Social media
Local paper
Posters/flyers
Fact sheets
Website
Public comment
forms
Surveys
Focus groups with
key stakeholders
Workshops
Deliberative
polling (sampling)
Strategy 4 – for
issues or initiatives
that place the
decision-
making directly with
citizens and key
stakeholders.
To place final
decision-making
in the hands of
the public.
Seeks to
empower the
community and
key stakeholders.
Recommended
tools for notice:
Mailed letters
Emailed to
stakeholders
Town website
Social media
Local paper
Posters/flyers
Fact sheets
Public comment
forms
Surveys
Deliberative
polling (sampling)
Delegated
decision- making
Ballots
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SAMPLE
FACT SHEET
[PROJECT TITLE]
[Insert all relevant information, including:
• State the issue, problem, or reason for issuing a
factsheet
• Staff reports, studies, or consultations which has been
undertaken as a result of the issue
• Financial information including costs of project and/or
costs of various options
• Mention best practices from other municipalities
• Feasibility of various options
• Note any actions taken by staff or directions given
• sourcing of any academic material used
Use the factsheet to share all possible information known.
Do not include:
• Project timelines
• Definitive financial promises (never promise, always estimate the cost of a project)
• Statistics that are not from a reputable source
• Staff information without prior consent.
• Promises made by Council
• Impact on the community/neighbourhood
For additional information on this project, contact: [Name]
[Job Title]
Town of Tillsonburg, [Department
Name] [Phone number (Ext.)]
[E-mail address]
• [Insert quick fact]
• [Quick note, two sentences
maximum]
• [Percentages and statistics
appropriate]
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SAMPLE
PUBLIC NOTICE
The Corporation of the Town of Tillsonburg
Corporate Office 200 Broadway, 2nd Floor
Tillsonburg, ON N4G 5A7
Purpose of Notice
[Describe why a public notice is being posted and/or delivered]
Date(s) and Time(s) of Public Meeting(s) or Information Session(s)
Date Location Time
Map or Illustration
[A description of the subject land, a key map showing the subject land, or an
explanation why no description or key map is provided]
Additional Information
[Where and when additional information and material will be available to the public for
inspection]
For additional information, please contact:
[Name] [Job Title]
Town of Tillsonburg, [Department Name] [Phone number (Ext.)]
[E-mail address]
Personal information collected and recorded at the public meeting or submitted in writing on
this subject is collected under the authority of the Municipal Act, 2001, as amended and will
be used by members of Council and Town staff in their consideration of the application. The
written submissions including names and contact information and the report of the public
meeting will be made available to the public. Questions about this collection should be
referred to the Clerk at 519-688-3009.
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SAMPLE
“YOU SAID, WE DID”
You Said
We Did
Further Details
New public pool at
Community Centre
Updated the colours and
“modernized” the existing pool
at the Community Centre
Replacing the existing pool at
the community centre is not
within the Town’s budget.
Modernizing the décor and
updating a few of its features
invigorated the existing building
and pool.
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SAMPLE
Budget Considerations
Preapproved Budget: Yes No Operating Funds Capital Funds
Requires Approval: Yes Purchasing Policy Reviewed (Compliance) Yes
Potential Cost
Proposed
Budget
Actual Costs
Variance
Staffing $ $ $
Consulting Fees $ $ $
Data Gathering (Polls,
surveys, online tools)
$ $ $
Technical Requirements
(Software, equipment)
$ $ $
Meeting Logistics
(facilities, food/drinks,
equipment rental)
$ $ $
Communication Costs
(advertising, web
development, design
fees, print materials,
presentation materials,
postage)
$ $ $
Participant Costs
(Transportation,
translation/interpretation)
$ $ $
TOTAL $ $ $