The District of Saanich has three new tools available for its residents to have their say in what the municipal council is doing when it comes to the budget, the District’s many parks and other matters.
First, Saanich launched a new public engagement platform called HelloSaanich.
This resource is meant for feedback of all types and in regards to any topic a resident would like to voice their opinion on.
Residents will also be able to keep up to date on the projects which are impacting their lives in the community.
“Saanich is thrilled to launch our new engagement platform and we encourage everyone to participate in opportunities to help shape policies and initiatives,” said Mayor Dean Murdock.
“Your input is essential to help us understand the perspectives, opinions, and concerns of our valued community. You can register on our new platform to share your thoughts and stay updated on the projects that matter most to you.”
According to the District, this platform is meant to be a central hub of information and people’s feedback.
Feedback will be able to be given via adding an idea to an existing or proposed endeavour, commenting on a proposal, voting on project priority or taking a survey.
Some examples of projects people can interact with include the 2024 budget, the Quadra-McKenzie study, capital works projects and parks projects.
The second way Saanich is opening the floor to the public for guidance is with their survey for the Direction Action Plan (DAP).
The DAP is meant to replace its Parks, Recreation and Community Services (PRCS) initiative that lasted from 2013 to 2020.
This process will see council and staff take many aspects of how residents enjoy their parks, recreation facilities, programs and community events and combine them into the DAP.
The survey will only be available until Monday, February 5th and the DAP is projected to be presented to the public by council in late fall of this year.
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Lastly, Saanich has now launched a simulation tool for their 2024 Financial Plan, which will guide how the District spends money throughout the next year.
This tool offers residents a way to have their say in the plan.
The simulation allots the user a certain amount of fake money to give toward the District services that are most important to them.
After this is done, the individual using this budget tool can submit their preferred budget, then staff and council will take that information and evaluate how they should use their allotted budget in 2024 based on the given answers.
There is also an online survey to go hand-in-hand with the simulation in informing the Saanich council.
Both the simulation and survey will only be available until February 14th.
