More than 6000 participate in Smart Choices campaign

More than 6000 people participated in the Christchurch City Council’s Smart Choices campaign to learn more about the city’s financial issues and its Long Term Plan.

Christchurch Mayor Lianne Dalziel is heartened that so many residents took the opportunity to visit the yourvoice website, provide written feedback and have a say at 28 community chat sessions hosted by Councillors and Community Board members.

“One of our main aims was to explain the seriousness of our situation, and our options for resolving the financial impact of the earthquakes through the Long Term Plan. We also wanted to get a sense of what people felt was important, what the high priorities are in light of the tough decisions we have to make,” says the Mayor.

At least 5000 people read information on the yourvoice website which received 14,000 page views. Over the seven week Smart Choices campaign elected members also talked to about 1000 residents at public venues ranging from shopping centres and school fairs, to Canterbury University and the Diwali Festival.

The Mayor says based on the community feedback, major projects and the future of city assets were major concerns, with widespread support for delaying the stadium.

“I also took the opportunity to raise these issues at forums I was asked to address through U3A and Rotary groups. These meetings helped me understand why it was so important not to allow the challenges we face to be reduced to a simple slogan about asset sales. When people understand that there are decisions we can’t make alone, they understand that there have to be trade-offs”, Lianne Dalziel said.

“Of the almost 400 written comments, a third were about major projects and 23 per cent about asset sales. Repairing roads and sewer pipes was also a high priority.

“People were genuinely pleased to see their elected members fronting up and talking to them face-to-face about their city, but that was just the beginning and the conversation about the future of our city is far from over.”

Tomorrow the Council will discuss a proposed financial strategy for the Long Term Plan which will be outlined in a consultation document released in March. The Mayor says residents will then have an opportunity to make formal submissions on options outlined in the Plan.

The full report on feedback from the Smart Choices campaign is available here.

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