City of Austin Heeds Public Comment on the Budget, Kinda
It was a brilliant example of the dialogue between government and the people upon which this great country was founded. Then the draft of the budget came out.
Many of the services the public wanted to cut remain intact. In an interview with the Statesman, budget officer Ed Van Eeno said, "Public input is a piece of the puzzle - an important piece, but not the only one." They also ask city workers, volunteer organizations and, of course, the city council.
But it’s not all bad. When it came to adding services, Austin paid attention to the people’s requests, adding more police officers, firefighters and EMTs to the city payroll. They also increased services for the homeless and downtown parks -- all of which was deemed important by the public.
After two meetings (which are open to the public) in September, the final budget will be revised and voted on in time for the beginning of the fiscal year, which starts October 1. Any questions about the budget can be sent here.
So next December when you’re safely ambling along the Trail of Lights, protected by extra police and talking about how much money you made at jury duty, you can thank the City of Austin budget.
