FAQs
What is the Let's Talk Halton Hills community engagement platform?
The Let’s Talk Halton Hills community engagement platform ‘letstalkhaltonhills.ca’ is designed to make public engagement easier, more inclusive, and more representative of public opinion. The platform is hosted by a third-party provider and comes equipped with eight interactive online tools: a discussion forum, ideas boards, a mapping option, storytelling tool, question and answer tool, a guestbook, polls, and surveys.
Why does the Town of Halton Hills use this online tool?
The Town of Halton Hills is committed to increasing opportunities for meaningful dialogue with residents and other stakeholders. Online technology offers an effective and user-friendly option for public engagement. Consistent with the Town’s Public Engagement Charter, the engagement platform provides another means for the community to learn about initiatives in addition to the Town’s website, e-newsletters and social media channels and more.
How are Town decisions impacted by resident/stakeholder inputs?
Feedback from residents and stakeholders is considered by Town staff in developing recommendations for Town Council approval.
Why do I need to register on Let's Talk Halton Hills to have my say?
While registration is not required to access Let’s Talk Halton Hills, it is necessary for many of the more interactive engagement opportunities. We ask you to register on the platform for a few reasons:
- Your registration information helps us ensure that we are getting feedback from a good cross-section of town residents and/or visitors, providing a more accurate picture of public opinion, or showing us where we need to focus our community engagement efforts.
- It promotes accountability and encourages people to provide more thoughtful responses because feedback can be attributed to them.
- It will keep you informed.
How to register?
Registering is easy, confidential, and helps you stay in the loop! Upon registering, you will create a username and password, and will be asked for:
Your email: when you register with your email address, the Town will keep you updated on the status of the projects we know you are interested in. We will also send you notices when new surveys or forums become available regarding other projects, so you can stay informed and engaged with the Town.
Your postal code: so that we don't have to keep asking you for your postal code or other demographic information each time you post to a forum or complete a survey, since those simple questions are part of your registration process.
If you haven't yet registered with Let’s Talk Halton Hills, we invite you to do so today and get started sharing your ideas and opinions with your town! If you have already registered, thank you for providing us with your feedback, and please come back regularly to share your thoughts with us. We value your input!
Are there rules of engagement for users of the platform?
Yes. Anyone participating through any of the Town’s channels (e.g., social media, engagement platform, etc.) and/or in person is expected to adhere to the Town’s various guidelines and policies including:
In addition, the engagement platform has a purpose built moderation system that balances the need to protect the integrity of the engagement program while giving community members a real opportunity to have their say about the issues that matter to them. Automatic filters prevent bad language and spam and third-party moderators read comments to keep conversations on track, safe, secure, and fair. Moderation is applicable to Forum, Places, Ideas and Guestbook tools. It also applies to Stories (if moderation is enabled) and Newsfeed tool (if comments are enabled.)
Should users be concerned about privacy, or the security of information shared online?
The online engagement platform is a secure site and adheres to the Town’s Privacy Policy and the Freedom of Information & Protection of Privacy provisions of the Municipal Government Act.
The third-party provider Bang the Table now part of Granicus, understands that data is among an organization’s most valuable assets, so the site’s top priority is to deliver a comprehensive, high-performance online solution that keeps clients’ data safe, engagement secure, and work protected.