With the city facing a budget shortfall of $30 to $45 million, depending on where City Council sets the property tax, a hard reckoning is around the corner. Canceling the 2010 police cadet class, increasing ambulance fees, closing seven neighborhood pools, and cutting library hours are all up for discussion – the usual assortment of fees and service reductions mulled most every budget crunch, but here, staggeringly more so.
The city is trying their damnedest to get people on-board early in the process. Tonight, they’re hosting the first of three town halls, 6:30pm, at the Northwest Recreation Center, 2913 Northland Dr. It should begin with a budgetary overview, “followed by an interactive exercise designed to generate meaningful public engagement in setting service-level priorities.”
In plain English, that means the city is trying to make the choices more concrete by giving participants poker-style chips, and letting them peel back services themselves until the gap is closed. Whether this format works or tanks remains to be seen – along with whether people actually show. You, citizen, have a poor track record of actually showing to these events, so please, the Hustle implores you to actaully make it to one, starting tonight.
This article appears in June 5 • 2009.