The city of Madison took its series of public discussions on the 2013 city budget downtown Thursday, to hear where residents think the city should be putting its money.
Madison residents came together to share their thoughts and voice their concerns about the budget to city officials who will begin working on the budget in May.
Mayor Paul Soglin said the goal of these meetings is to find out what specific concerns community members have about the city budget and provide a forum for speaking directly to city officials.
“This is about finding out what you want us to accomplish,” Soglin said.
Residents agreed the city needs to focus more on providing services for the homeless, affordable housing and low-cost public transportation.
Attendees also said they were happy with safety issues, but at an earlier budget meeting with students and city officials students said they thought more money should be put toward improving campus safety. Students suggested more money be put toward improving street lighting and increasing police presence at night.
Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4, said while he is pleased with the progress of the budget conversation meetings, his only concern is the low turnout.
Verveer said there were no more than fifty people in attendance, which is significantly less than at last year’s meetings.
“We still think we made the right decision to move up these public budget conversations... so that the information we learn is more meaningful to us,” said Verveer.
