Committee narrows focus to one top goal: improve transparency and trust

The committee revisited three draft goals and committed to prioritize "improved transparency and trust" as the committee's principal objective.

Several members argued for tabling the other draft goals (improving communication reach/KPIs and educating the community about governance) because they said those efforts feed into transparency and would be better addressed once the primary goal has definable KPIs. One member said, "I think this is great research, great discussion, but in my opinion, all 3 of these should be tabled because we have 1 very important goal out there already."

Members proposed specific tactics to meet the transparency goal: an annual community survey or targeted 'Did You Know' and 'how-to' explainers about board processes (for instance, explaining why replying-all can create a quorum). The group discussed using financial explainers (including a recent $600,000 surplus example) and improving access to vouchers and budget line items so taxpayers can better understand spending decisions.

Next steps: the committee will develop KPIs that measure progress on trust and transparency (examples suggested include web visits, clicks on explainers, and survey responses) and return with a refined plan.