As Pleasanton city staff get ready to discuss the upcoming two-year budget, community members have been given the opportunity to share what projects they think should be prioritized through an online survey and other public events.

"On March 15, the city of Pleasanton announced that it is preparing its two-year budget for fiscal years 2023/2024 and 2024/2025 and expanding its outreach efforts in the budget process to create more opportunities for public input," according to a press release from the city. "The goal is to develop a city budget that reflects the operational needs, strategic goals, values and priorities of the City Council and community."

Apart from the usual process of attending council meetings to voice their desires, there will be a number of other ways people can get involved in the budget process such as surveys, community meetings, and in-person events.

"The city's budget should reflect what residents and businesses need. We can only do that by hearing directly from you," officials said in an earlier press release.

A short survey can be accessed by going to the "Pleasanton Budget" portion of the city website. Apart from that residents can attend a virtual community budget meeting next Thursday (March 30) from 6-7:30 p.m.

They can also find an informational table at the downtown farmers' market on April 15 and April 22 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. to learn more and give feedback on the city's budget and strategic plan.

The strategic plan is a five-year planning process that the city is looking to adopt in order to replace the current two-year work plan.

"The strategic plan will create a vision for our future and guide the design and implementation of projects and programs that reflect the community's values, needs, and priorities," according to the press release. "Like the budget process, inclusive community engagement will be essential to ensure the strategic plan represents the diverse perspectives of our community." n