By Kathy Gallant

Council makes goals with feedback from budget survey

Aug 28, 2018 | 4:32 PM

In an effort to stay better connected with residents and garner meaningful feedback, city council in Meadow Lake have identified five important goals for their 2019 budget, thanks to a recent survey.

In June of this year, a survey asked a set of questions about current services and community priorities, asking for feedback on such subjects as bylaw enforcement, road work, the arena, waste collection, and infrastructure.

The two-week long survey ran from June 15 to 30, and 406 people responded. Mayor Gary Vidal and council spoke about the results following their Monday, Aug. 27 meeting, and identified some main points.

Vidal said he felt the survey was a worthwhile practice.

“We’ve been trying to expand our consultation of the community, and it was new for us. The survey highlighted some major priority for residents. There was talk about crime reduction, some opportunities for our young people, and revealed some gaps in communication. When you put yourself for something like this, there’s an opportunity to people to vent, but at the same time, we’ll take what’s there and figure how we can better service our citizens.”

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He said city staff, managers and council often have answers to most of the concerns brought up by survey respondents, but it survey made it clear there’s still some work to do. Out of last night’s meeting, mayor and council identified five main points for the budget planning process, which will guide administration as they plan for the Oct. 13 budget meeting.

The five goals include road planning for preventative maintenance and replacement, improved productivity and efficiency, a review of enforcement priorities for bylaw, improving community pride, aesthetics and engagement, and breaking down communications gaps.

“This is what we’ve asked them to go back to the table with as they meet with managers as they come up with numbers for us when we meet in October, and they’ll meet the challenge the best they can,” Vidal said.

When it comes to communication the city has an app, Facebook, website, and staff try to talk to people as often possible

“Something like this has made it evident that not everybody’s getting that information through these different sources,” Vidal said. “So we’re going to work on what are some new and different ways we can reach people.”

The city will be discussing the budget at a meeting on Oct. 13.

kathy.gallant@jpbg.ca

On Twitter @ReporterKath