WORKING ON An Open City hall

My biggest focus has been transparency. I create Council previews, engage at community events, stay active online, meet residents for coffee, and write about major Council decisions. You have a right to know what is going on in Council Chambers. And as the experts of community experience and priorities, I need to hear from you to do my job. I’d like to see overall City engagement and communication continue to improve.

 

If re-elected, I will maintain my high level of in person and online engagement. I will advocate for:

  • A searchable database of Council meeting minutes, agenda packages, and reports so that you can more easily learn about past Council conversations

  • Regular “talk to Councillors” tables setup at the Farmers Market or community events

  • Bulletin Boards advertising upcoming engagement activities and recent Council decisions prominently placed in City parks and recreation facilities

  • Better integration of City communications and dispatch so you can get any information or service you need by remembering just two numbers: 311 & 911

  • More prominent advertising of where to access plain language reporting on City finances

  • Increased opportunities to attend open houses in order to hear from and give feedback to staff running City services

  • Councillor Disclosure pages that report on the expenses of Councillors and list when they have declared a Conflict of Interest and removed themselves from Council debate (and voting) an an issue.

  • Create a Capital Projects dashboard that creates a simple-to-read report on major capital budgets and if whether or not they are on time and on budget

  • Earlier this year, the province eliminated Council Codes of Conduct. A priority should be pressuring the province to bring back Council Code of Conducts so that elected officials who behave inappropriately can be held to account. If the province doesn’t do this, I wish to work with colleagues across the province to form a voluntary pledge of good behaviour that we will hold ourselves accountable to. In the meantime, I am committed to conducting all Council business as if the old Code of Conduct was still in legal effect.

  • Explore piloting participatory budgeting, where a small budget is set aside for residents to drive by proposing and voting on community enhancement projects.

 

During my time on Council, I am proud of:

  • Staying engaged with residents online, at community events, and through regular coffee meetings so they can hear my thinking on Council issues and provide feedback.

  • 311, AccessGP, and text message updates being implemented so residents can more easily access information and services

  • Council Committee meetings starting to be streamed and saved on YouTube

  • Establishing annual reports outlining City initiatives over the past year

  • Budget Open Houses where members of the public can meet City program managers to take a deep dive and provide input into the City budget prior to Council deliberating it.

Full Platform

Do you have questions, ideas, or feedback? I’d love to hear from you! Find me on social media (@DylanBresseyGP) or click here to contact me.