SUPPORTS ITEM NO. 3
CS&B COMMITTEE AGENDA
JULY 11, 1996
ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT
Date: June 26, 1996
TO: Standing Committee on City Services and Budgets
FROM: Director of Finance
SUBJECT: 1997-1999 Capital Plan - Public Information Process
RECOMMENDATION
THAT Council approve the components of the two phase public
information program related to the 1997-1999 Capital Plan as
detailed in this report, at an estimated cost of $125,000; source
of funds to be the 1996 Operating Budget.
GENERAL MANAGER'S COMMENTS
The General Manager of Corporate Services RECOMMENDS approval of
the foregoing.
COUNCIL POLICY
There is no applicable Council policy.
PURPOSE
The purpose of this report is to advise Council of the proposed public
information program to be conducted for the 1997-1999 Capital Plan.
BACKGROUND
On November 14, 1995, Council approved the process for development of
the 1997-1999 Capital Plan.
On March 26, 1996, Council established overall expenditure priorities
for the Capital Plan and established a financial limit of $175
million.
On May 14, 1996, Council approved the composition of the staff Capital
Plan Review Committee and instructed the committee to review the
departmental submissions and report back with a recommended Capital
Plan that met the financial limits.
Council also instructed the Director of Finance to report back on the
details of a public information program for the 1997-1999 Capital Plan
along with a proposed budget.
DISCUSSION
The public information process proposed for the 1997-1999 Capital Plan
has two distinct phases. The first phase will commence following
Council consideration of the draft Capital Plan on July 23, 1996 and
continue until mid-September. At that time Council will hear
delegations on the Capital Plan and consider other input from the
community in preparation for making final decisions on the composition
of the Plan. The second phase will begin after approval of the final
capital plan, leading to the election at which voters will consider
the plebiscite questions arising from the Plan.
Phase 1 - Seeking Public Input on the Draft Plan
There are two objectives of Phase 1 of the public information process.
The first is to provide the public with information about the capital
planning process, the priorities placed on the plan, the financial
limits and their rationale and the components of the Plan being
considered by Council. Equally important in this phase will be to
encourage, and provide the opportunity for, the public to comment and
to make sugges-tions on the draft plan prior to final consideration by
Council. This is the most ambitious public process the City has taken
around a draft Capital Plan, and one that will hopefully encourage a
broader range of public involvement and input than in the past.
There are four basic components included in this phase:
1. Public Information Flyer
This component of the public information plan will involve the
development of a four page newspaper-style insert to be
distributed through the community newspapers system as well as at
other City-public contact points such as libraries, recreation
facilities and City Hall. The insert will contain information
about the planning process and plan components and provide
opportunity for the public to provide input and reaction to the
plan through a questionnaire and comment section that may be
faxed or mailed back.
2. Internet Home Page
The public information brochure will be produced in such a way
that it can be posted to the City's Internet Home Page in much
the same way as the Transportation Plan Choice brochure was.
Through this article on the Web Site, the public will be
invited to respond by e-mail, by fax or in writing.
3. FaxBack Information
The City's interactive-voice response FaxBack system provides an
easy and convenient way to distribute information about the
Capital Plan. The public will be able to call the system and
automatically have a two page fact sheet about the plan faxed to
them. In addition to providing information about the Plan, this
component will also encourage the public to provide their
comments and suggestions to the City by fax, e-mail or mail.
4. Public Opinion Survey
One of the key components of the public information process
associated with the last Capital Plan (1994-1996) was a public
opinion survey conducted through a series of telephone interviews
by a professional polling firm. This survey had the objective of
helping Council understand public attitudes about the City's
capital expenditure plans.
It is proposed that a similar survey be undertaken as part of the
public information process for the current Capital Plan. As with
the 1993 survey, the current one will provide a statistically
reliable sampling of the attitudes of the public and, by
utilizing several of the key questions from the earlier survey,
will allow some benchmarking of changes in community attitudes
and priorities. The results will also provide a realistic check
against public input received from other sources.
These four components will form the basis of the first phase of the
public information program, leading up to a special Council meeting on
September 23, at which time the public will be able to make their
views known to Council.
Phase II - Publicizing the Final Plan
The content of the final Capital Plan will be communicated to the
public using a variety of media including:
1. Information Brochure and Media Campaign
A main component of the public information process related to the
final plan is a public information brochure which outlines the
contents of the plan. This brochure would be mailed to every
elector as part of the City Clerk's publicity campaign for the
civic election and will be made available at community centres,
libraries and other public locations.
It is also proposed that the Capital Plan be publicized through a
media campaign involving daily and community newspapers and a
variety of publications that serve the City's various
communities.
2. Community Television/Video Presentation
Staff propose to contract with Rogers Community Television to
produce one or two documentary programs and a series of public
service announcements describing the Capital Plan. These
programs would be played on the Rogers Community Channel during
October and November at prime viewing times and during breaks in
televised Council meetings. Videos of the programs would be
available for use by staff or for viewing by individuals or
community groups. Multilingual versions of the programs would
also be available for the multi-cultural channel.
This arrangement with Rogers would be an opportunity to explore
more extensive use of community television to inform the public
about civic initiatives, including the non-political information
about the election. The City would be responsible for the
production costs associated with the video while Rogers would
provide use of camera equipment, edit facilities and air time at
no cost.
It is proposed that most of the information material to be used in the
program be developed in-house. The City has developed a strong core
of expertise in this area as a result of the CityPlan and
Transportation Plan experiences and through the Communications
Division. Supplemented with outside assistance for production work,
doing the work in-house will allow better control and continuity to
the public information program both in Phase I and in Phase II leading
to the plebiscite.
Phasing of the Program
The following summarizes the significant milestones in the Capital
Plan process leading up to the election:
Jul 23 Capital Plan Review Group report to
Council
Jul 24-Sep 15 Public Information Process - Phase I
Sep 23 Special Council Meeting to hear
delegation
Sep 24 Council approval of Final Capital Plan
Sep 25-Nov 15 Public Information Process - Phase II
Nov 16 Civic Election and Plebiscite
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS
Based on our experience with the last Capital Plan, $125,000 has been
included in the 1996 Operating Budget for the public information
process associated with the 1997-1999 Capital Plan. It is anticipated
that the major components of program will have the following
approximate costs:
Phase I
Newspaper Flyer $ 18,000
Public Opinion Survey 17,000
Internet Home Page nominal
FaxBack nominal
Phase II
Public Information Brochure 40,000
Media Advertising 30,000
Community Television Production 10,000
Program Production Consultant 10,000
Total $125,000
CONCLUSION
The public information campaign is one of the key components of
developing a Capital Plan. The objectives of the campaign are to
provide information to the public about the capital expenditure plans
of the City leading up to the plebiscite in November 1996. The cost
of the proposed program is estimated at $125,000, about the same as
the programs from prior plans.
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