City of Wichita officials will host a social media town hall budget meeting from 2 to 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday, June 14 in Training Room I on the 9th floor of City Hall, 455 N. Main. Media are invited. Mayor Jeff Longwell and City Council Members are expected to attend.
During the social media town hall, residents will be asked questions regarding the budget on the City of Wichita Facebook page and on Twitter at #ictbudget16. Residents who are unable to participate during that time frame should visit the City’s Facebook page to view the budget questions and leave comments. Residents can also send tweets after the town hall has ended but should remember to use the hashtag #ictbudget16. City staff will respond to the additional comments and tweets the following day. Planned topics for Tuesday’s town hall include public safety, streets, park amenities, transit, and branch libraries.
Last year, community engagement was an important factor in operating budget issues such as implementing the Police body worn camera program, expanding bikeway maintenance, improving the forestry program, funding street maintenance pilot programs, and addressing illegal dumping. During both 2015 events, there were more than 170,000 views, and more than 2,000 residents actively participated by posting comments, sharing posts, or liking comments. The most active topics were about street maintenance, trees, and swimming pools.
The City’s social media town hall is part of the 2017-2018 proposed budget process. The proposed budget is a more than $500 million spending plan that addresses public safety, quality of life, cultural arts, economic development and other proposed expenditures and reductions. The town hall precedes planned budget workshops and other community engagement efforts related to the 2017-2018 Proposed Budget.
The 2017-2018 Proposed Budget is scheduled to be presented on July 12. The City Council will take final action on the budget on August 9, a date set by state statute.
