Tualatin Tomorrow: City of Tualatin Engaging Citizens Online to Plan for the Future

Tualatin Tomorrow is a community-driven Vision for the future of Tualatin.  First developed in 2007 and modified in 2009, Tualatin Tomorrow describes the way citizens want their community to look, feel and function over a twenty-year horizon.  The Vision “action-plan” outlines specific programs and projects designed to help achieve these community goals.

In 2013, Tualatin will complete the first major update of the Action Plan.  Periodic updates improve Community Visioning outcomes by:

• Ensuring the long-range plan reflects current community aspirations
• Incorporating new approaches and technologies to achieve evolving community goals
• Restocking the Action Plan as earlier community priorities are completed

The City in collaboration with the Tualatin Tomorrow Advisory Committee, has developed tools to make collecting community input as easy as possible.  A new online portal allows people to sign in and share their ideas about the community.  It provides another tool for city government to listen to community priorities.  Through one easy-to-use interface, residents can offer their ideas, like other people’s ideas, or provide their feedback.  To access the new tool visit, www.tualatintomorrow.org

Within a few clicks, residents can get started sharing their ideas.  These ideas might include suggestions for new services, service improvements, public facilities, parks, policy changes or other recommendations.  The site allows you to conveniently participate in the Tualatin Tomorrow Vision Plan update without requiring you to attend a public meeting.  The ideas and other feedback received through the site go directly to policy makers and City staff to see the priorities and ideas of the community.  “I am proud that Tualatin is leveraging technology to enhance our citizen engagement efforts! We value public participation and this tool will make it more convenient for people to get involved,” says Mayor Lou Ogden.

The new online service is powered through a platform called CivicIdeas ™, created by Granicus, Inc. a San Francisco-based company.  This tool has been designed to help agencies like Tualatin gather meaningful feedback from the community, enhance government transparency, and make it easy for people to participate in the public process.

For more information, contact Sara Singer, Deputy City Manager, (503)691-3065 or email ssinger@ci.tualatin.or.us.