Citizen Information & Services plan and budget
Citizen Information & Services (CIS) provides two-way information and services for Calgarians, businesses, and visitors using The City’s primary contact channels: 311 and the Calgary.ca website. Through day-to-day information, interactions, and transactions, this service gathers valuable feedback to help The City prioritize, develop, and modify services to better meet the needs of customers and Calgarians. By providing easy and accessible information and services, 311 and Calgary.ca help The City speak in a collective voice, building trust in the public that their municipal government is efficient and well-run.
Our customers
- Calgarians who access City information and servcies (golfers, pet owners, families, youth, etc.)
- Homeowners and taxpayers
- Businesses
- Special needs and interest groups
- Other internal business units
Our partners
- All City service directors (eg. Pet Ownership & Licensing, Bylaw & Compliance, Streets, Waste & Recycling, Business Licensing, Social Programs, Taxation, Property Assessment, etc.)
Value to Calgarians
- access to timely, accurate, reliable information and services
- encourages compliance with City bylaws and regulations
- clear direction to reduce confusion during emergencies
- 311 data provides service directors with insights for decision-making
What we deliver
- Access to City information via Calgary.ca and 311
- Data, analytics, dashboards and insights on Calgarian inquiries.
- Continually evolving the user experience to match the needs of the community.
Budget breakdown
Operating and capital budgets explained
The budgets you see here are expenditures net of recoveries.
The City develops two budgets to create impact aligned with Council’s Strategic Direction:
- The four-year (2023-2026) operating plans and budgets
- The five-year (2023-2027+) capital plans and budgets
The operating budget includes revenues, recoveries and spending related to ongoing operations. These include:
- Salaries, wages and benefits.
- Day to day programs, maintenance and services.
- Administration costs (e.g., insurance).
- Fuel
- Utilities
- Capital financing costs.
The City's total net operating budget is zero. This means we budget to collect the revenue needed to deliver services to Calgarians — no more, no less. We collect this revenue through property taxes and other sources.
The capital budget pays for long-lived assets. These provide the foundation for the services Calgarians rely on. They include:
- Maintenance of current infrastructure (e.g., bridges, buildings and playgrounds).
- Upgrades to existing community infrastructure.
- New infrastructure to provide services in areas that are underserved (e.g., Green Line).
- New infrastructure for growing areas of the city.
Learn more about our 2023-2026 Service Plans and Budgets.
See how the budget has been adjusted since November 2022
Measuring performance
We are measuring our performance in five areas. Each value is the goal we expect to reach by 2026.
What we've heard
Data from the 2021 Citizen Satisfaction Survey shows that 311 is a primary strength for The City and 83 per cent of Calgarians are satisfied with Calgary.ca. Almost one in three (27 per cent) of Calgarians request to invest more in the 311 service and over one in five (22 per cent) request more investment in Calgary.ca.
Ninety-four per cent of Calgarians contact The City via phone or online (54 per cent of Calgarians prefer to contact The City by phone and 40 per cent indicate that they prefer to use online channels).
Customers value the easy access that CIS provides to multiple City services. They also value the reliable and trustworthy City information it delivers in a variety of channels. As preferences continue to evolve, this service line strives to improve equitable service through the customer's channel of choice.
Participate and view results of City researchWhat we're watching
- CIS has been at the forefront of the transition towards digital as demand increases and City services transition to digital channels. This had led to an overall increase in service demand as traditional channel volumes remain consistent. A strong demand for phone contact is expected to continue as The City strives to balance customer needs in the most efficient and effective channels.
- Demand is anticipated to continue to increase resulting from population growth and positive economic recovery in this cycle. Resourcing to meet customer expectations around responsiveness as well as meeting Council-defined service levels has emerged as a primary risk and will be closely monitored and managed.
- Through innovation, analytics, and customer insights, this service line will look to leverage its wealth of data to serve dynamic content and forecast service demand to customers and Calgarians.
Our initiatives
What we plan to do
We are focused on delivering equitable access to City services and information that is reliable, consistent and cost effective. This service will seek investments to champion innovation and collaboration to gain efficiencies, scalability and sustainment to meet the needs of Calgarians.
How we're going to get there
- Serve as the major access point for City information and services through the provision of The City's web presence and 311. Integration of City-owned data and presenting it back in a user-friendly way, as well as performing ongoing technical maintenance and required upgrades to ensure these channels are available to customers 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
- Improve City decision-making, transparency and service delivery by providing the organization, Calgarians, and Council with web data and 311 insights by providing real-time data through dashboards, predictive analytics based on historical data, and detailed reporting.
- Provide responsive and dynamic information to customers on Calgary.ca and advance efforts to modernize government by better leveraging existing technology and 311 data. Automatically offering up Calgary.ca pages based on the most popular 311 inquiries, ensures customers have easier access to the most relevant web content.
- Increase the convenience and accessibility of information and services for customers by providing multi-channel solutions. Continue to advance the shift of services online and evaluate a call back option, while maintaining telephone service as a means for reliable two-way, real-time information sharing and dialogue with customers.
- Provide a modern municipal website to Calgarians through ongoing improvement initiatives and the adoption of new technologies. This includes the use of automation to improve site consistency and functionality, while also providing savings to the Corporation. Throughout the cycle continue to explore the capabilities, efficiencies, and service improvements available by on The City's web platform.