City council begins debating the 2012-2014 operating budget on Monday, November 21, but Calgarians still have the opportunity to tell politicians what to do with next year’s $2.9 billion.
Open houses are scheduled for November 17 from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Cardel Place in the northeast, and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on November 19 at the South Fish Creek Recreation Association in the southeast. Citizens are welcome to voice budget concerns to senior city staff before aldermen discuss the draft in council chambers.
Failing that, there is an online comment form available at calgary.ca. Members of the public are also allowed to make five-minute presentations in council beginning November 21, however, it is on a first-come, first-heard basis. The draft budget is available on the City of Calgary website.
The city conducted the largest public consultations in its history in the lead-up to the current budget talks, with in-person, online and telephone surveys. The public engagement project gathered input from 24,582 individuals, according to Dialogue Partners, the Ottawa-based company hired by the city to organize and conduct the surveys.
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