Online survey a big help for City of Brooks management
By Ryan Dahlman Alberta Newspaper Group on October 28, 2020.
Brooks residents will have another opportunity to offer opinions on where their tax dollars are allocated in the upcoming City of Brooks budget. City of Brooks “Budget 2021: Have your say!” public survey opened Oct. 15 at https://brooksbudget.ethelo.net/page/YourProperty-Taxes and will run through Nov. 15. Finance manager Shelley Thomas says the survey has been a useful tool for city administrators for the past four years. Opinions from citizens will be considered for the 2021 civic budget. Public feedback is being sought on property taxes, RCMP services, snow and ice removal, recreation, athletic fields parks and playgrounds, road maintenance, storm water maintenance and municipal public safety. “We have gotten increased participation each year, certainly not as much as we would like but public participation, especially in the budget process is really, really important,” explains Thomas. “It is very difficult to get that public participation, but we really like the platform, we think it is a progressive platform. More and more people are online all the time and we have gotten an increase each year.” The City of Brooks offers a prize for those who participate in the opportunity. She says this isn’t a frivolous exercise and says the information is important and beneficial. “As far as the information being heft, it is the first thing we present to council when we start budget deliberations,” explains Thomas. “There hasn’t been any big surprises but obviously we know that the more people that participate, the more valuable the information goes because it is a better representation. We are hoping it will increase in popularity this year.” Because of the Alberta government’s talk of lowering the amount of money available to municipalities and with the overall provincial and local socio-economic state not being overly healthy, there is concern about fiscal belt tightening. “We didn’t change the survey too much in the circumstance but there are a few little twists and turns and specific questions pertaining to discussions we have been have or are having,” explains Thomas. “This year is very important. We know that our council has no appetite to increase taxes this year. We have to do a better job of even staff, department managers have to do a better job of prioritizing what’s important. Certainly for council, what’s important to the public is the best way to prioritize.” The findings will be compiled and then council deliberations on the budget will occur in early December. If you have any questions or would like additional information, contact Thomas at 403-362-3333. 12-11
