Bringing property taxation into the twenty first century
Use the guiding principles
The importance of service planning and budgeting principles serve as the foundation for understanding our service delivery, the value it provides, and how this contributes to the quality of life in our community.
An established set of principles to guide the decision-making process over multiple four-year cycles will inform general practice across all different aspects of planning and budgeting activities. Enshrining these principles in policy is intended to allow Council to have a more strategic focus on its priorities and decisions required to develop our multi-year service plans and budgets.
Multi-Year Service Planning and Budgeting Principles
- Accountable: We focus on citizens by ensuring they can meaningfully engage and participate in budgetary choices. The City’s service plan and budget documents are transparent, understandable, meaningful and available to all Calgarians. We measure and report on performance and service value and make adjustments as needed to meet expectations.
- Aspirational: We identify and address the needs of all Calgarians as expressed in our existing longterm plans, policies, strategies and priorities. We use the best available evidence, including medium and long-term forecasts, to create realistic multi-year service plans and budgets.
- Equitable: We consider Calgarians' diverse needs, strengths and social realities, recognizing that different barriers exist for diverse individuals and groups, and delivering services in a way that all people have the opportunity to benefit equally.
- Integrated: We use a cross-corporate approach to planning, managing and reporting that includes risk management and attention to the relationship between operating and capital investments, while proactively involving our partners.
- Value for money: We responsibly invest public funds in City services for long-term benefits while continuously seeking efficiencies in order to maximize the value that Calgarians receive from their municipal government.
These principles should be applied throughout the multi-year service planning and budgeting process and reflected in prioritization and decision-making at each stage. The principles are consistent with Administration’s Rethink to Thrive Strategy, with strong links to its goals of financial sustainability, optimized investments, and organizational focus, among others.
Examples of the implications within the multi-year service planning and budgeting process
Principle | Implications on the Service Plan and Budget Process |
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Accountable |
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Aspirational |
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Equitable |
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Integrated |
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Value for money |
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