We are heading into budget season for all the local entities that are required to have a fixed tax rate and overall budget for the upcoming fiscal year.
I encourage community members to stay informed with the entities that will affect them.
More often than not, I see plenty of individuals take to social media who make uninformed opinions regarding entities they are affected by. If said individuals regularly attended the public meetings and listened to what is discussed I feel like they would voice their opinions in an environment that will actually make an impact.
I’ve had the pleasure of shaking hands with multiple community members who attend meetings and like to know what is being decided in their communities.
They might not be the most exciting meetings in the world, but the outcomes that are decided by the elected seats in those groups is made with the best interest of the community in mind. If someone does not feel that way, attend the meetings and let your voice be heard.
In addition to that, I encourage our community members to brush-up on the process of which things work. If there is a particular topic that you would like to present in a public comment, try to grasp the process in which the entity came to the previous decision.
I’ve seen my fair share of individuals speak on certain topics and offer alternative options or solutions that are simply not feasible. I like to use an example for people when I explain this. When law enforcement begins any process, there are steps and way things have to be handled.
It is similar to when game rooms came to our community and citizens were asking why they were not shutdown immediately. There is a process to those things and steps have to be taken to get to the ultimate results.
Municipalities have city charters that they have to adhere to and things have to be taken in proper steps to make sure everything is followed by the book.
As a community, we have the option to reach out to our elected individuals who sit in the positions to approve things or deny them. Reach out and have a discussion with those folks.
All change takes leg work and if it is truly something you feel needs to be changed, the leg work won’t seem like a tall task.