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Climate-justice survey delayed until late fall; $50,000 earmarked for implementation assistance
Summary
The commission’s climate-justice community survey will start as a digital launch in late fall, with a fuller door-to-door and in-person canvass planned for spring; commission members said $50,000 is available to support implementation but staffing and Savannah’s leave shifted the timing.
Members of the survey working group reported that the climate-justice community survey timeline has shifted: funding for door-to-door canvassing was paused earlier this year, which delayed the planned launch, and the staff member who would coordinate implementation is currently on leave.
The working group presented a revised schedule: launch a digital survey in late fall (around November), ideally after the Climate Action Plan goes to Common Council, and follow with a fuller launch in spring that would include door-to-door canvassing, in-person events, and additional outreach. The group told the commission that the project has roughly $50,000 available to use for implementation assistance.
The group and commission discussed trade-offs. Working-group presenters said a summer launch would miss many students who are away for the break and would not align with the city’s budget cycle; launching in the fall would put results too late for the immediate upcoming capital budget season but could produce usable inputs for future budgeting cycles. One working-group presenter noted that the survey’s audience question and mapping approach will focus on population-based measures rather than relying solely on small-area census blocks.
The working group said it preferred to avoid hiring an outside consultant unfamiliar with the Ithaca Green New Deal’s history; instead members proposed relying on an intern, student canvassers when available, and targeted assistance paid from the allocated $50,000. The working group also plans a phased rollout and has built an online option for residents who prefer digital participation.
No formal funding approvals or contractor hires were made during the commission meeting; the discussion set the working-group recommendation to begin a digital launch in late fall and a fuller, in-person phase next spring when staffing and students return.
Next steps: the working group will return with more detailed operational plans for the late-fall digital launch and the spring canvass, including how the commission’s allocated funds will be used for staffing and outreach support.
