City Invites Feedback on Plan for El Cerrito Future

El Cerrito City Hall wants to hear from you.

The city is coordinating the development of a "Strategic Plan" for El Cerrito's future over the next decade or two. It's supposed to a blueprint or roadmap representing what citizens of El Cerrito want their city to be, to be used to guide city policy and programs, according to city officials.

Over the past several months, the city and a consulting firm, Management Partners, have held workshops and collected online comments, which resulted in a summary of the main ideas that emerged.

Now the city has created an online tool, "Community Voice," to solicit further feedback and citizen discussion of the themes that have been identified.

Here is a notice about Community Voice distributed by the city's Community Outreach Specialist, Suzanne Iarla:

I wanted to invite you to use a new online tool, “Community Voice” to share and discuss ideas with fellow community members.

So far, we’ve heard from many people about what is important to them and ideas about things that can be done to make El Cerrito an even better place.

Online at www.elcerritostrategicplan.org, you can download the “Summary of themes and ideas” document that summarizes what we heard so far through focus groups, feedback at events, the online survey and interviews with individual Council members. You can also download a full report of the online survey results (collected through 10/30.)

To help clarify the many great ideas we have gathered, you are encouraged to use the new online “Community Voice” feature on the City’s website to share and discuss ideas you think are the most important for the City to focus on over the next five-year period. For example, we have heard that "Economic Development" is important, but that broad term might mean different things to different people. With the “Community Voice” online tool, you can be specific about your ideas.

With this new online tool, you can submit ideas categorized under broad topic areas and in turn other residents can comment on your ideas and vote them up or down.

This tool provides an opportunity for you to elaborate on your ideas. What specifically do you recommend as a major City goal? Why is it important to you and the City? How do you suggest that it might be accomplished? In what ways should the City reduce/eliminate costs or increase revenues to fund your top priorities?

The information provided online will be included with the other feedback and comments we have received and will help the City Council to develop meaningful goals and strategies for our community.

How to get Started:

To  comment or add an idea on the “Community Voice” tool you will need to have an account for the website.

If you already have an account, then simply login with your username and password. To create an account, click on the “my connections” link in the upper left, then click on the “Create An Account” button. You will need to provide your name and email address, as well as create a password. (The other profile questions are optional.)

Of course, if you would prefer to not participate in this conversation online, you are welcome to provide written comments to the City.

The Strategic Plan process began May 1 when the council voted spend up to $45,000 on the effort, including at least $39,000 for Management Partners, to work with the city in developing a Strategic Plan to provide a shared community vision or blueprint for the city's future for the next decade or two or longer.

The plan is expected to be far more extensive than the city's official "mission statement," which the council hammered out last year. And it's also supposed to be broader in scope and values than the nuts-and-bolts details found in the city's general plan.

Patch also welcomes your ideas about the city's future in the comments below.

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