HomeMy WebLinkAboutMemo - Mail Packet - 6/8/2021 - Memorandum From Amanda King Re: 2022 Budget And Strategic Plan Engagement UpdateMEMORANDUM
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Communications & Public Involvement
215 N. Mason St.
PO Box 580
Fort Collins, CO 80522
970.416.2209
fcgov.com
DATE:
TO:
THROUGH:
FROM:
RE:
, 2021
Mayor and Councilmembers
Darin Atteberry, City Manager
Kelly DiMartino, Deputy City Manager
Tyler Marr, Interim Information & Employee Services
Amanda King, Director of Communication and Public Involvement
2022 Budget and Strategic Plan Engagement Update
Bottom Line:
Generally, the City updates the Strategic Plan every two years and creates a biennial (twoyear) budget in alternating
years, to resource that plan. Due to the economic uncertainty related to COVID19, the City created a oneyear budget
for 2021 and will do the same for 2022, before returning to the regular twoyear cadence.
Given that both the Strategic Plan and budget will be updated in 2022, the City’s Communication and Public Involvement
office has developed a shared engagement plan to streamline efforts with a combined approach to inform both efforts.
Background:
The City of Fort Collins has a long and successful history of including the community in its organizational planning to
guide decisionmaking, policies, and the delivery of City services. Alongside City Plan (Fort Collins’ comprehensive plan
for the next 1020 years) the Strategic Plan reflects the values of the community. While City Plan articulates a longterm
community vision and growth framework, the Strategic Plan outlines short and midterm objectives, informs the City’s
budgeting process, and guides the implementation of the City’s full range of services.
The Strategic Plan is updated every two years through extensive community engagement to ensure funded programs
and services reflect the desires of the community. There are seven Key Outcome Areas and each has specific objectives
and performance measures that make up the City’s Strategic Plan.
For 15 years, the City has used the Budgeting for Outcomes (BFO) process to identify the various programs and services
that should be funded to achieve different community outcomes in the Strategic Plan. BFO focuses on outcomes and
results, rather than organizational structure, and puts the community’s values and priorities first, and every funded
budget item has to impact at least one objective in the City’s Strategic Plan.
Current and Future Engagement:
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March – May:
o Community Survey
After a brief pause in 2020 due to COVID19 related budget reductions, the annual Community
Survey was resumed in early April.
The statistically valid survey is mailed to 3500 randomly selected households, who have the
option to complete the mailed survey in English or Spanish or take it online.
An additional optin online survey was launched in early May for community members who did
not receive a mailed survey but would still like to weigh in online in both English and Spanish.
Both surveys closed on May 24, and results are weighted against current US Census data to
ensure they are representative of the community.
A feedback summary and full report are expected by the end of June to help inform the
decisions made for the 2022 Recommended Budget.
o Community Partner Engagement Preview
On March 3, CPIO hosted an engagement preview with community partners to share upcoming
engagement opportunities and solicit feedback about what outcomes and projects each group
was most interesting in participating in.
o OurCity Page and Content Development
A 2022 Budget project page was created with background information, City listening contacts,
video and document library, key dates, FAQs and news feed. Information is available in both
English and Spanish, and visitors can also request a staff presentation for their organization or
group.
In late May, several online engagement tools were launched ranging in time and complexity
based giving community member’s options to participate based on their time and interest. See
more at: https://ourcity.fcgov.com/2022budget.
o Engagement Toolkit
Available in English and Spanish via the OurCity page, an Engagement Toolkit was created to
serve as a facilitation guide for community members to host their own input session with
friends, neighbors, faith group or other association.
June – August:
o OurCity Engagement Continues
Regular features of each Key Outcome Areas will be used on social media to promote ongoing
engagement and feedback.
A preliminary engagement report with results from the Community Survey, online and inperson
engagement will be provided to the City’s Budget Lead Team in July.
o Targeted Outreach
Community stakeholders, including Boards & Commissions, will be invited to participate and
provide input via the various methods of engagement, and periodic demographic assessments
will be completed to see which voices may be missing for additional outreach.
o Internal Engagement
Preliminary feedback will be shared with staff to inform internal strategic plan review.
September-November:
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o City Manger’s Recommended Budget Published
An overview of what is reflected in the City Manager’s Recommended Budget and why/how
decisions were made will be shared along with the timeline and next steps.
o Continued OurCity and Council feedback collection
Shift engagement tools to solicit feedback on the City Manager’s Recommended Budget
o Council Work Sessions and Public Hearings:
Sept. 14 Council Work Session #1
Sept. 21 Public Hearing #1
Sept. 28 Council Work Session #2
Oct. 5 Public Hearing #2
Oct. 12 Council Work Session #3 (Summary of Community Engagement will be provided)
Nov. 2 Council First Reading
Nov. 16 Council Second Reading
Council Engagement:
Additionally, the attached information sheet was created for Councilmembers and City leaders to share with their own
key stakeholders to provide an overview of this year’s plan and collect highlevel input.