Prince George, B.C. – It’s still  over a month away, but  the dates and locations for   “TalkTober” have been set.

As was the case last October,  City Staff and members of Council will be  visiting various neighbourhoods in October to collect feedback on issues  residents  deem  important.

The dates and locations for  the 2016 version  of TalkTober are as follows:

• College Heights – Wednesday, October 12, 6:30pm, Columbus Community Centre in College Heights
• Hart – Tuesday, October 18, 6:30pm, Hart Community Centre
• Blackburn – Thursday, October 20, 6:30pm, Blackburn Community Hall City Centre
• Monday, October 24, 4:30pm, a downtown location yet to be confirmed
• Bowl – Wednesday, October 26, 6:30pm, College of New Caledonia atrium

All TalkTober  events are open to  all residents of the City regardless of address.

This fall,  the  themes  will be :

• Parks, Recreation, and Well-being
• Roads, Utilities, and Transit
• Planning and Development

Each neighbourhood conversation will wrap up with a question-and-answer session hosted by the Mayor with Councillors and City staff on hand to  participate as well.

Mayor Lyn Hall says the  first “TalkTober”  was “very successful”.

This year, instead of having  a session in  the “East Bowl and West Bowl,    there is one session at CNC,  and there will be another in the downtown area.  The  plan  also calls for just one event in College Heights  while last year there had been two ( College Heights and Vanway).  “If we have to have another one, I think we can accommodate that” said Mayor Hall.

While the information  gathered at these sessions will be used  during the  budget discussions,  the sessions are not the only way  residents can have  a say on budget planning. There will also be a an online  budget simulation launched in October.  That  simulation will collect feedback  about  what residents  see as budget priorities.