“This Council continues taking action to increase public engagement and ensure our municipal government is well-run – and that means ensuring that it is open and transparent. An important part of this is ensuring residents have access to information about all the important work that is happening at the Town and all the ways Council and staff are working to build a more resilient, more complete community. In everything we do, our full-time residents are our top priority and we will continue to look for new and better ways to keep them informed and engaged.”

Mayor Brian Smith

The Town of Wasaga Beach is taking further steps to increase public engagement, build trust, and promote openness and transparency in municipal government.

Today the Town announced it is taking the following actions:

• Launching a refreshed public engagement website, EngageWasaga to make it easier for residents to get involved.
• Launching a rethink and refresh of the Town website to make it more customer-service focused and user-friendly, with the ultimate goal of making it easier for residents to access Town services as well as accurate news and information.
• Introducing new CAO Office Hours, which will see the Town’s CAO, Andrew McNeill, host weekly doors-open, drop-in style public engagement sessions on Mondays from 9 am to 12 pm, with the goal of increasing public engagement, building trust and improving openness and transparency around the Town projects and initiatives that matter most to residents.
• Confirming dates for two Town Hall Meetings with town staff and Council.

These new initiatives aim to provide full-time residents with greater access to staff and key decision makers while making it easier for residents to get involved, ask questions, and become better informed.

These new actions are in addition to regularly scheduled Council and public meetings, and a Did You Knowcampaign that will begin this summer. The campaign will feature a new podcast and social media posts that cover frequently asked questions and offer new information on topics of high public interest – like re-imagining the beachfront. It will also cover less-known projects and customer service initiatives that aim to make it faster and easier for residents to access the Town information and services they rely on to pay bills, apply for permits, and more.

These new actions build on Council’s recent decision to increase openness and transparency by re-introducing recorded votes during Council meetings.

The Town also continues to disclose the number of employees of the Town that earn over $100,000 according to provincial legislation known as the Sunshine List.

QUICK FACTS

• CAO Office Hours begin on Monday, April 8 and will take place at Town Hall, located at 30 Lewis Street in Wasaga Beach. These are one on one, casual meetings. No appointment necessary. Open to all residents of Wasaga Beach.  
• Town Hall Meetings will take place on May 16 and August 15 at the Recplex (Main Hall) from 7pm – 9pm.
• The Town will be seeking feedback shortly through EngageWasaga about its Town website and resident-recommended topics for the Town’s new Did You Know? campaign and podcast.

Additional resources

Visit EngageWasaga.ca to learn more about municipal projects and initiatives that the Town is currently seeking feedback on.

Background

The Town of Wasaga Beach aims to be a place where people come to create memories that will last a lifetime. The bundle of actions and initiatives that the Town is implementing – to increase public engagement, and build trust, openness and transparency in municipal government – supports this vision and Council’s priorities: to ensure our municipal government is well-run. This includes achieving excellence in customer service and corporate culture. It’s part of the Town’s plan to become a leader in sustainability, creativity, innovation and fun – a place with thriving businesses and safe, inclusive and complete neighbourhoods where we celebrate our rich history, diversity of cultures and natural beauty, including the Nottawasaga River, Georgian Bay and the longest freshwater beach in the world.