FAQs

Better Together Edina gives you the opportunity to have your say on issues that are important to you, at a time and place of your choice.

• It is quick, safe and convenient.
• It is a great way to keep up to date on projects that matter to you.
• You can see what other community members think about an issue or topic, respond with your own views and engage to the level you desire
• You do not need to attend community meetings at a set place and time, you can contribute at a time and place that suits you
• It's a comfortable platform for people to share a range of different views

As part of our response to the pandemic, we've had to pivot our public hearing process to provide access for all and to ensure the work we've committed to doing continues. We're doing our best to be responsive and transparent while creating increased access and inclusivity to public hearings, and in those efforts we're learning a lot. 

Because this process is new for all of us, we hope to tweak and improve processes as needed. Moving forward, I am working with our provider to make sure the moderation policy is applied consistently in addition to looking at ways to change some of our functionalities of collecting input on Better Together.

If you have more questions related to the public input process or community engagement give me call! 

That is an easy one! Contact MJ Lamon, Community Engagement Coordinator at mlamon@edinamn.gov or 952-826-0360. 

I would love to chat!

Yes, you can use this website anonymously. Even when you register and post comments, your anonymity is protected because you are identified by your chosen screen name. 

At times we may ask you to provide more information as it relates to a project, but our hope is to be inclusive and make people comfortable participating on-line.

Depending on the level you want to get involved with projects will determine this answer. 

Each project is a little unique depending upon the engagement level required for that project. Some projects are inform only which means we are just trying to share information with teh public. Other times we ask individuals to submit feedback via the online discussion forums, quick polls, forms and surveys for each of the projects currently open for consultation.

To participate for the first time, simply:

• Sign up for Better Together by clicking on the "Sign In" button or the “Register” button in the top right of any page

• Choose a username and password

• Complete a few questions about you

• You will receive an email to validate your email address

• Return to the website and click the "Sign In" button

While registration is not required to access Better Together, it is necessary for many of the more interactive engagement opportunities. We ask you to register to the website for a few reasons.

• It helps ensure that a broader set of perspectives have an opportunity to be represented by attributing feedback and frequency of feedback to individuals.

• It promotes accountability and encourages people to provide more thoughtful responses because feedback can be attributed to them.

• It also means that we can let you know of any news if something major changes about a project.

All comments, ideas and suggestions are collated and used by the relevant project teams to inform the development of strategies, programs and activities, or to gain an insight into community perspective and opinions.

Often, feedback provided online is used in conjunction with other face-to-face activities such as meetings, open houses or surveys.

When each consultation closes, all contributions are typically review, compiled and analyzed to help inform decisions.

All feedback provided during consultation will be considered; however, this does not mean that every suggestion will affect the project or be adopted as proposed.

Note: All comments you make through this website will become public records for anyone to read.

Yes! Your privacy is absolutely protected and the city will only use your email to contact you with updates and to invite you to participate in consultations.

Your email address will not be distributed to any third party or used for any other purpose. For more information, see the platform Privacy Policy.

We want no keep it positive! While you may not agree with all comments submitted, we ask that you respect another individual's experience, perspective and opinion. 

Visit our moderation page for more information. 

All public comments are moderated 24 hours a day seven days a week, for inappropriate language, comments that disrespect other participants, and for comments that are off topic.

All moderation is carried out by Bang the Table and all moderation is independent to the City of Edina. The moderators do not edit or alter any comments and will only remove comments deemed to be significantly off topic, offensive or malicious, in which case they are removed from the site immediately and the person who posted the comment is advised by email. See the moderation policy(External link) for more details.