HomeMy WebLinkAboutMemo - Mail Packet - 6/23/2020 - Memorandum From Amanda King Re: 2021 Budget Engagement PlanCommunications & Public Involvement
215 N. Mason St.
PO Box 580
Fort Collins, CO 80522
970.416.2209
fcgov.com
DATE: June 17, 2020
TO: Mayor and Councilmembers
THROUGH: Darin Atteberry, City Manager
Kelly DiMartino, Deputy City Manager
Tyler Marr, Interim Information & Employee Services Director
FROM: Amanda King, Director of Communications and Public Involvement
RE: 2021 Budget Engagement Plan
Bottom Line:
Due to the economic uncertainty related to COVID-19, the City will be creating a one-year 2021 recommended
budget for City Council consideration in September 2020. Typically, the City does more robust outreach prior to
publishing the City Manager’s recommended budget. Given the constrained timeline and the shift to a one-year
budget, this year’s engagement will be a little different with additional promotion and feedback on the City
Manager’s recommended budget. Staff has created a draft engagement plan to both inform the community of
the budget process and to involve the community on prioritization and trade-offs related to budgeting. The bulk
of these efforts will occur from mid-July to mid-September.
Engagement Plan Highlights:
• July-August:
o Share 2020 Strategic Objectives with focus on preserve, prioritize, and reduce
o Create online platform through OurCity to provide budget education (videos, process charts, key
dates), and;
o Use platform for high-level polling, idea creation, and prioritization exercises
o Also anticipate use of Zoom webinar for larger scale informing and involving opportunities
• August-September
o Focus on sharing City Manager’s recommended budget and collecting feedback.
o Continue with OurCity platform.
o Consider another larger scale Telephone or Zoom Townhall
• September-November
o Council Work Sessions & Public Hearings
o Continued OurCity and Council feedback collection
Overall Considerations:
• Utilization of all standard tools: Social media, FCGov.com, OurCity, Zoom, FCTV, etc.
• Applying streamlined racial equity lens to identify opportunities for advancing equity while mitigating
potentially regressive impacts
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• Ensure meaningful engagement through online ability for feedback and customization of priorities and
trade-offs* including focus on recent expressed desire for reallocation of traditional police services
dollars
• Engage diverse stakeholder groups while avoiding stakeholder fatigue
* Based on cost, timeline and previous experience with A Balancing Act, staff recommends utilizing the OurCity
platform. Community feedback in 2016 reflected that the tool was clunky and difficult to use, while it also took
staff numerous hours to upload and configure our specific budget information.
Please see the attached draft engagement plan for additional details.
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Communication & Public
Involvement
215 N. Mason Street
PO Box 580
Fort Collins, CO 80522
970.221.6882
970.221.6586 - fax
fcgov.com
PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT SUMMARY
PROJECT TITLE: 2021 BUDGET OUTREACH
OVERALL PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT LEVEL: Inform > Consult
Purpose of Outreach:
• Share 2020 Strategic Plan that was informed by robust engagement process in 2019 and
re-engage community to verify priorities and values
• Explain current financial constraints that will impact the 2021 budgeting process and a
deeper dive into the changes that will be made as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic
• Provide the community an opportunity to share input about what outcomes they most value
to inform budget priorities and trade-offs
KEY STAKEHOLDERS: Fort Collins residents and businesses, partner agencies and City staff
(including targeted outreach to historically underserved communities and communities of color)
TIMELINE: July - October
Phase 1: Inform/Consult
Timeframe: July - August
Key Messages:
• Forecasted financial impacts due to COVID-19 impacts
• One-year operational budget; still aligned to Strategic Plan with metrics
• Process, timeline and opportunities to engage in one-year operational budget
• Question – what Outcome objectives are most important to prioritize, preserve or reduce
funding for? OR, are current values/priorities different from what is reflected in the 2020
Strategic Plan?
Tools and Techniques:
• Video/s explaining strategic planning and budgeting process and seven outcome areas
• Telephone or Zoom Town Hall to kick off budget engagement (Early July)
• OurCity project page (live July 1)
o Online ranking tool to verify what objectives the community would like to see
funding prioritized, preserved or reduced for in the 2021 budget
o Engagement kits for community groups, ambassadors
• Media release
• FCGov.com spotlight
• Social Media
• City News
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• FCTV bulletins
• KRFC Radio messages
• Internal – online all staff forum
PHASE 2: Inform/Consult
Timeframe: September - November
Key Messages:
• Review and share feedback on the City Manager’s Recommended Budget, including
reduction offers and why/how those decisions were made
• Remind the community of the next steps, timeline and additional opportunities to share
feedback with Council including two public hearings
• Question – are there any comments/feedback Council should consider before adopting the
City Manager’s Recommended Budget?
Tools and Techniques:
• Media release
• Telephone or Zoom Town Hall to share City Manager’s Recommended Budget
• Online presentations with stakeholder groups
• OurCity page
o Ongoing feedback/comment collection
• FCGov.com
• Social Media
• Council Public Hearings:
o Public Hearing #1: September 15, 2020
o Public Hearing #2: October 6, 2020
Note all events and feedback materials will be available in both English and Spanish
Supporting Materials and Ideas
• Create a high-level summary of changes by outcome in the City Manager’s Recommended
budget and explain why/how decisions were made to change funding
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