Engage Marin is where residents weigh in on County initiatives, directly informing the way County services and investments reflect community values. Share an idea, read what your neighbors said, and support the ones you agree with. It takes only two minutes to have your voice heard.
We're planning for Marin's future and want to hear your ideas. Share what you'd like to see improve, protect, create, or prioritize in the years ahead. Your feedback will help inform the County's long-term strategic plan and future decisions. Share your ideas with us.
12 ideas from 12 people so far
We want to understand what makes Marin special to the people who live, work, and spend time here. Tell us about the places, experiences, services, or qualities you value most. Your feedback will help shape the County's long-term vision and build on what already works well. We'd love to hear your perspective.
3 ideas from 3 people so far
Imagine Marin 10 to 20 years from now. Share your biggest ideas for what the County could become, even if they seem ambitious. Your feedback will help shape the County's long-term vision and future priorities. Dream big and share your vision.
3 ideas from 3 people so far
Before the Veterans' Memorial Auditorium (VMA) reopens, we want to learn from venues you love. Great sightlines, a standout bar, family matinees, or easy ticketing: tell us what matters most. Your input will shape programming, amenities, and the guest experience so the VMA feels made for Marin.
Be the first to submit an idea
Recent ideas residents have shared, drawn from every question on Engage Marin.
I’d like Marin to use a youth and family lens as we plan for our future and focus on being a place where every generation can thrive. Marin does a lot to support the aging population, but we should also be intentional about making Marin a place where kids, teens, young adults, and working families feel connected and want to stay. I’d like to see safe, affordable places for teens to hang out, evening and weekend activities beyond organized sports, community events for older kids and teens, and better transportation so they can have more independence. More internships, summer jobs, volunteer opportunities, and career exploration would also be great. Consider the bigger picture: if Marin becomes increasingly difficult for younger households and families to live in, what does that mean for our future workforce, schools, local businesses, volunteer base, tax base, and overall community vitality?
Sandra A., San RafaelSeptember 240 votes0 comments
What are your ideas for Marin's future?
I want a roller sake rink at the Civic Center!
Cathy Hotz, San AnselmoSeptember 230 votes0 comments
What are your ideas for Marin's future?
What makes Marin special to me is something I didn't fully appreciate until I did the BASSC Executive Development Program this year and got to talk with people from other counties about what they're doing. Marin is genuinely unique in having staff-led affinity groups and actually funding them, not just allowing them to exist. Pairing that with a mentorship program means people here aren't just doing their jobs, they're building community and investing in each other's growth. Hearing how rare that combination is elsewhere made me appreciate it here so much more.
Robyn Barron, Outside of MarinSeptember 220 votes0 comments
What do you love most about Marin today?
I want Marin County to build a coordinated, countywide approach to equity in hiring, service delivery, engagement, and accountability: a policy standardizing how REAL and SOGIE data is collected, for both our workforce and clients, paired with a public dashboard so we can see not assume whether county government reflects and serves the community fairly (we do not currently collect workforce SOGIE data, and no dashboard exists that is visible); a countywide language access policy, since departments handle interpretation and translation inconsistently; engagement standards that share real power in decisions, not just gather input; a small cross-departmental team to coordinate this work and build staff capacity to practice it, not just train on it; and real evaluation of outcomes, not just activity. Equity work already happens quietly across departments but stays invisible, with no shared way to see or evaluate it. A shared structure means every department builds toward the same goal.
Robyn Barron, Outside of MarinSeptember 222 votes0 comments
What are your ideas for Marin's future?
1383 has required the state to divert food waste and organic waste away from landfills, however, the local County infrastructure cannot respond to the increase of green waste, organic waste, and food waste volume. I believe this is due to the the reliance of private companies to develop means to manage these streams (i.e. increase composting capacity, purchasing depackagers to remove packing material from food waste, etc.). All of this requires capital investments and private company's incentive structure is different structure is different than government - profit versus public good. This is not a judgement on the private entities, they have a business to run. I am encouraging the the County to consider running its own composting and anerobic digestion operations. This is also important for all the green waste that comes form fire abatement work and downed trees from West Marin.
Outside of Marin ResidentSeptember 220 votes0 comments
What are your ideas for Marin's future?
Forcing a greater physical presence imposes an exhausting and unnecessary commute tax, draining time and energy for routine tasks, especially for many County Employees who can't afford to live in the county we serve, that have already been proven to run efficiently from home. Positions capable of remote execution have consistently demonstrated high productivity and reliable service delivery without needing a physical desk. For the organization, this policy is actively counterproductive. At a time when maintaining stability requires retaining experienced workers, a rigid onsite mandate invites unnecessary attrition and burns out our best people. Arbitrary physical attendance metrics do not improve service delivery. Instead, they degrade it by driving away institutional knowledge and talent we cannot afford to lose. We need to anchor our approach in outcome-based flexibility rather than arbitrary spatial requirement.
MC, Outside of MarinSeptember 224 votes0 comments
What are your ideas for Marin's future?
My big, bold vision: a Marin County government that looks like Marin where our workforce genuinely reflects the community we serve, and where every department can show, not just claim, that services reach everyone fairly. I want community engagement to mean real power-sharing, not just information-sharing, where residents, especially those historically left out of the process, help shape the decisions that affect them from the start. And I want equity to be built into how we work every day: our data, our hiring, our contracts, our outreach not a separate initiative, but simply how Marin County operates.
Robyn Barron, Outside of MarinSeptember 220 votes0 comments
What's your big, bold vision for Marin's future?
I am a current County of Marin employee, so while I do not live in Marin, I work closely in the community. My concern is West Marin and septic systems. Many of the systems installed are old and falling apart or are inadequately sized due unapproved building additions. Repairs, replacements or upgrades for these systems can be expensive, and many homeowners are unaware what having a septic system on a property means for home ownership. Septic systems are important for keeping drinking water safe, preventing public exposure to sewage and preventing detrimental impacts to the environment. I would love to see the County develop grants to help homeowners deal with failing septic systems or develop financial mechanisms to help potential homeowners purchase properties with expensive septic system requirements (i.e. sites with poor soil which need engineered septic systems).
Lee Bryant, Outside of MarinSeptember 220 votes0 comments
What are your ideas for Marin's future?
A County department posts a question seeking input on a key decision, project, or investment while a decision is still open.
You share an idea in your own words, comment on your neighbors’, and vote for the ones you agree with. You can put your name on it or stay anonymous, and you do not need an account to get started.
County staff read every idea, join the conversation where helpful, and summarize what residents said for the staff and boards making the decision.
