FY2024 -25
COMMUNITY
ENGAGEMENT PLAN
Outreach strategies designed to promote broad-based
participation in the annual budget process across all
Council Wards
EXHIBIT 2
PURPOSE STATEMENT:
THE WHY
The purpose of community engagement is to focus on
activities that facilitate interaction, nuanced discussions, and budget simulation.
Santa Ana’s Community Engagement Plan proposes
specific outreach strategies that promote broad
participation in the annual budget development process
across all Council Wards. The challenge is to make
budget engagement exciting and captivating, so folks
want to participate and see that input translates into
action via the resource allocation process.
This plan is based on citywide best practices in
combination with the April 2023 edition of Government
Finance Review, a magazine dedicated to showcasing the
best and the brightest in local government finance.
City of Santa Ana Finance &
Management Services
December 19, 2023
BEST PRACTICES-
QUALITY CONTROL CHECKS
Communicate the numbers in a way that everyone is able
to grasp.
Broaden efforts to include renters, non-English speakers and other historically disenfranchised groups.
Reduce barriers to engagement by leveraging the
relationships local non-profits have throughout the
community.
Continue translating materials in Spanish and Vietnamese.
Internal partnerships: Collaborate with various
departments as they interact in the community. Don’t
compete with each other.
Always close the feedback loop. Demonstrate how the
allocation of resources aligns with community priorities.
Utilize multiple methods of engagement so they
complement one another. These should be a combination
of informal and formal methods.
City of Santa Ana Finance &
Management Services
December 19, 2023
ENGAGEMENT METHOD- COMMITTEE/
COMMISSION MEETINGS
City of Santa Ana Finance &
Management Services
December 19, 2023
We are requesting to speak about the budget as a guest speaker at various City Committee/ Commission meetings in February, March & April.
ENGAGEMENT METHOD- COUNCIL
WARD MEETINGS
City of Santa Ana Finance &
Management Services
December 19, 2023
Target community influencers and neighborhood champions to conduct information gathering sessions by partnering with various organizations such as area non-profits, churches, schools, and neighborhood associations.
*Meeting location is dependent upon site availability
ENGAGEMENT METHOD- CITYWIDE
EVENTS
City of Santa Ana Finance &
Management Services
December 19, 2023
It is estimated that fewer than 20% of residents have ever attended a public meeting (Polco, November 2022). To reach the other 80%, it is incumbent on the City to cast a wider net. Citywide events tend to have higher rates of attendance and are therefore the most productive in terms of reach. These are the events currently planned for Winter/Spring 2024.
Lunar New Year Festival- February 3, 2024
Eggcellent Adventure- March 30, 2024
Santa Ana Fun Run- April 27, 2024
Dia de los Niños- April 27, 2024
BUDGET PARTICIPATION
OUTREACH CAMPAIGN
Collaborate with City Manager’s Office of Public Information to advertise engagement efforts through press releases (English, Spanish & Vietnamese), social media ads, Nixle, digital marquees, City Hall lobby screens & other display
advertisements.
Tap into the City’s multiple social media platforms by
collaborating with the most active departments that have the largest number of followers.
Promote community engagement through various city
published newsletters such as:
COSAS (City Manager’s Newsletter)
SAPD
Library
PRCSA
Economic Development
Arts & Culture
Partner with local non-profits to promote engagement and input. These organizations include but aren’t limited to America on Track, Asian American Senior Citizens Center, Cambodian Family Community Center, Garden Grove USD-
Russell Elementary School, Immaculate Heart of Mary Church, KidWorks, Latino Health Access, Newhope Church THE MIXX, St. Barbara Catholic Church, Templo Calvario Community
Development, and VietRISE.
City of Santa Ana Finance &
Management Services
December 19, 2023
TOOLS
& RESOURCES
City of Santa Ana Finance &
Management Services
December 19, 2023
Budget Engagement Simulation Tool (BEST)- This
software suite consists of two tools:
The Simulate Tool provides a way for the community
to frame financial tradeoffs by allowing users to
build their own city budget.
The Prioritize Tool offers a simple way to present
projects and costs. The City sets an overall budget
and users select projects up to a specified amount,
and then rank-orders them.
Budget Priorities Survey- Online Survey
In Person Feedback
Tools to Provide Input
1 or 2 minute infomercial illustrating how to use both
Live Sim and Prioritize
Brief video showcasing Santa Ana’s budget
Other Resources