It’s that time of year again — city budget deliberations — and like usual, there are plenty of numbers being tossed around. You can read all about the math HERE, HERE and HERE.
But if everyone’s goal is to build a better Sault Ste. Marie, the discussions we have must go well beyond dollars and cents. We need to talk about ideas.
Big ideas.
Your ideas.
Welcome to SooToday’s new Digital Town Hall, where everyone’s voice is actually heard. Simply put, this tool allows you to share your thoughts and opinions with city officials — directly but privately — with the goal of helping to shape a healthier, happier and more liveable Sault Ste. Marie.
Really? Absolutely. This new tool is all about ongoing collaboration between you and your hometown. Gone are the days of sending an email and not knowing who actually reads it. Our Digital Town Hall allows you to submit ideas and react to other ideas in real time, which helps shape the final results.
How does it work?
• Everyone submits an idea (or many ideas).
• As more ideas are submitted, you can see and rank what others from our community have said, which could spark new ideas.
• In the background, the CrowdSmart system assembles and categorizes everyone’s ideas so you can see how they collectively work together.
• The more you participate, the more you can shape our city’s future.
What are the benefits?
• You can participate from home — anytime.
• The evaluation of ideas is guaranteed to be bias-free.
• Because data privacy is very important to us, your personal information will never be shared or published.
The best part? We will share the final results with city councilors on Monday, right before they begin two days of budget deliberations.
SooToday can’t wait to hear all your great ideas! Again, here is THE LINK.