Media Release - Stratford Launches Online Tool for Resident Input into Long-Term Budget Planning (December 22, 2020)
Posted on 12/23/2020
Image of a notebook with doodles and words future plan writtenFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: December 22, 2020

The Town of Stratford is looking toward the future and expects the strong growth of the community to continue for many years to come. With growth comes the need for new infrastructure and services to meet growing demand. Residents have, through annual resident surveys, budget consultations and workshops on the Community Campus, identified potential capital and operational spending priorities for the Town out into the future. Town Council is now seeking input from residents on their priorities for future spending, as well as their views on paying additional taxes to hasten the development of infrastructure and services. The information collected will assist Town Council in making decisions for Stratford to help the community move towards meeting the needs and vision residents have for the future.

“Our community prides itself on inviting residents to be a part of the conversation,” stated Mayor Steve Ogden. “We value the input residents provide, and at this particularly important time for our community, we want to hear from every resident through the online platform being launched today. While we know it is the beginning of a busy upcoming week for many, we also felt some residents may wish to take the time to respond to this over their upcoming holiday break, so rather than wait until January, we have launched today.”

The Town of Stratford is pleased to be working with Ethelo, a Canadian non-profit organization with a vision to improve democratic policy-making using Internet technology, on this project. Some residents may note that this platform was planned to launch in November however during testing an issue was discovered which required the provider to do some internal work to resolve. In order to ensure that there is sufficient time for all residents to participate, the online platform will remain open until January 22, 2021.

Residents can use the online platform to rate their level of support for a variety of proposed initiatives such as sports fields, rinks and pools, as well as increased policing and transit options, while seeing the impact of their spending priorities on their municipal taxes.

“We are very excited to launch this platform and have residents use it to inform upcoming Council decisions,” added Mayor Ogden. “With the Community Campus becoming a reality now, there are choices which we are asking residents to make through this engagement process, with the results helping to guide Council on the relative importance to the majority of residents moving forward.”

The platform is open to all Stratford residents at this time, and will remain open until January 22, 2021. For more information, or to participate, please visit www.townofstratford.ca.

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For more information please contact:

Wendy Watts, Community & Business Engagement Manager
Town of Stratford
T: (902) 569-1995
E: [email protected]

Printable version: Media Release - Stratford Launches Online Tool (December 22, 2020)