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Open and Collaborative City Hall Plan

“It’s amazing how much you can accomplish if you don’t care who gets the credit." - Harry S. Truman

Democracy is a trust relationship. Residents should have a direct and meaningful voice in the decisions that shape our city, understand how those decisions are made, and be able to see whether City Hall is delivering results.

Leanne believes that government works best when it listens, brings people into the conversation early and often, and works collaboratively to turn good ideas into action.

Her open and collaborative approach starts with decades of building relationships across Guelph. Leanne is known in the community as a change-maker and bridge-builder. She has chaired two Council committees, hosts regular town halls, and brings extensive board governance experience to the table. She has a Master’s in Leadership from the Lang School of Business, where her research focused on how leaders can increase their effectiveness by empowering community engagement.

Open and collaborative city hall plan graphic

THE PLAN

Leanne will build a more open, collaborative, and accountable City Hall by creating more opportunities for residents to participate before decisions are made, making it easier for everyone to understand what City Hall is doing and how decisions are made, and bringing people together across our community to solve problems and put good ideas into action. 

A MEANINGFUL VOICE

Bring the community into the conversation early and often.

Community engagement should happen before decisions are made, when there is still a meaningful opportunity to shape the outcome. Leanne will expand the ways residents can participate, strengthen citizen advisory bodies, and create more inclusive opportunities for youth, renters, newcomers, and other voices that can be missed by traditional engagement.

Actions

  1. Host a casual and welcoming monthly “Lunch with Leanne” event with an open Q&A, rotating between online and in-person options.

  2. Create opportunities for participatory budgeting and delegation that allow residents to participate in decisions that affect their neighbourhoods.

  3. Conduct thorough reviews of citizen advisory committees to assess their effectiveness and ensure community representation.

  4. Create more opportunities for under-represented voices (renters, youth, newcomers) to contribute their ideas through online platforms, polling, and interactive advisory panels. 

  1. Enable our city’s young people to learn about municipal governance and share their ideas by exploring an issues-based youth ballot in the 2029 election.


OPEN AND ACCOUNTABLE

Make it easier to understand City Hall’s decisions, activities, and services, and whether it’s delivering results.

Leanne will make information clearer and more accessible, provide better updates on Council priorities and major capital projects, and publicly track whether the City is delivering what it promised, on time and on budget.

Actions

  1. Develop an easily accessible and searchable Democracy Dashboard so that you can see exactly what your City Council is doing to move our city forward.

  1. Create a public-facing dashboard for large capital projects so that you can see if we are on time and on budget, along with key milestones to completion.

  1. Publish an annual council report card that is aligned to our strategic vision.

  2. Include community newsletters with letters from the City (e.g., water bills) to  inform residents of community events and issues.

  3. Use plain language and graphic visualizations to help residents understand planning and zoning amendments, budget documents, and technical reports.


WORKING TOGETHER 

Bring people together to solve problems and move good ideas into action.

The City should not solve problems alone. Leanne will strengthen relationships between Council, City staff, neighbourhoods, non-profits, businesses, and institutions so that expertise and good ideas from across Guelph can help shape solutions. She will also build a culture inside City Hall where councillors and staff are empowered to contribute, collaborate, and lead.

Actions

  1. Bring together the new council, staff, and the community to create a visionary “Beyond 200” update to the City’s Future Guelph Strategy, so that you can see 2026 election priorities reflected in our four-year-term work plan.

  1. Create staff-community leadership liaisons, including a dedicated role for building relationships with non-profits, businesses, and institutional partners.

  2. Strengthen leadership development for councillors, including using the rotating Deputy Mayor role (12 councillors: 12 months) to provide more opportunities for councillors to be inside City Hall.

  3. Explore a mechanism for City Hall staff to provide anonymous feedback and suggestions to encourage ideas, build trust,and open more opportunities for positive change.

  4. Look for more opportunities to work with agencies that deliver community services and programs to residents, including our most vulnerable residents.