Skip to main content

Community Safety

I think it’s great that the City is working on the safety and well-being of our community. I do have some questions and comments about this process:
How much is this costing taxpayers?
This plan is mainly focused on the business core. I know that there are problems in the outlying areas of the city, such as the newly amalgamated Douglas. And adding more CSSU presence in the downtown and Main Street core will just push problems to other areas of the city. (This must be what happened during Harvest, because homelessness and addiction was not as much in evidence downtown during that week.)
In 2022 there were two open house meetings for community feedback (one on the Northside and one on the Southside). We know that about 120 people went to both meetings. The strategies recommended in the task force report do not address the concerns raised by the public at these meetings.
There were two meetings held again this past December. This time the feedback from the public has not been shared, and we do not know how many people went to these meetings.
In the 2022 public presentation, one of the first slides was the IAP2 spectrum for public participation. From what I can gather so far, the level of public participation on this issue is the lowest – Inform. I don’t think we are even being informed adequately, and I think the level of participation must be higher.
Am I alone in thinking that a lot of these initiatives are being done to us instead of involving us, or at least keeping us informed in a meaningful way? Most of the public concerns are not addressed at all in the task force recommendations.

Community Safety Task Force Report 2025









Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Coming Home

Hello, Ward 1, I’m seeking the nomination for City Council in your neighbourhood. I spent the first 26 years of my life in this neighbourhood, and it is truly my home. After 26 years living in downtown Fredericton, I’m so happy to be back. I don’t have an agenda and I don’t want to just pay lip service to the issues that are important to you. I think it’s time to disrupt the status quo at City Hall. I’m for transparent government. I’m for the rights of taxpayers. I’m for lower taxes. And I think it’s achievable. Let’s talk about it. Contact me at HeatherOConnellWard1@gmail.com :) Heather 1993 – 2017 Teacher 2017 – 2021 Stay at home Mom 2021 – 2024 Stay at home Grammy 2020 – present Book reviewer on Bookstagram @jeatherhanereads 2025 – present organizer (and sponsor) of Julia Stewart Memorial Short Story Contest    
Post a Comment
Read more

Public Engagement

  What does meaningful public engagement look like? - Engage stakeholders early in the process. It is not productive to make a plan and then only consider feedback that fits with that plan. - Have a clear, consistent method of engaging the public. Let them know where they can find information on initiatives. - Post the information from all stages of engagement. Don’t leave things out because they don’t fit with the plan. - Communicate how public feedback is used. - Be clear and honest about the process and the impact it will have on the community.
Post a Comment
Read more