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Tempe report recommends civic‑engagement academy, clearer pathways after community outreach
Summary
A council subcommittee recommended a 'civic engagement academy,' improved feedback loops, a master directory for neighborhood associations and new outreach to renters after focus groups and peer‑city benchmarking; council asked staff for an implementation update within months.
Parish Spies and Zena Colani presented the final Community Engagement and Connection subcommittee recommendations, which draw on peer‑city comparisons, focus groups and a public survey and recommend a set of steps to increase participation and trust.
Spies said the subcommittee studied internal and external engagement practices, consulted neighborhood services and youth advisors, and learned that residents want clearer participation pathways and evidence that their input was used to influence city decisions. Colani described peer benchmarking and said Tempe scored nine out of 14 on the report's scorecard, with higher‑scoring cities using civic learning programs and novel engagement tools such as citizens assemblies.
Recommendations highlighted by presenters include creating a civic engagement academy to educate residents about city processes, elevating response protocols to close the feedback loop so residents can see how input was used, developing a master directory of neighborhood associations, expanding outreach to renters, and exploring new technology platforms to improve accessibility and search on existing digital tools.
Vice Mayor Garland and other council members praised the subcommittee's work and asked the city manager to schedule a follow‑up work study in about six months so staff can report back on implementation status and next steps.
