City leaders ask residents for ideas

Columbia city leaders have asked for residents’ ideas about how to improve aspects of the city.

Monday night, the Mayor’s Task Force on Community Violence met for the first “listening discussion” where residents gave their input on how to reduce crime in the city.

Tuesday night, leaders and citizens met once again for the First Ward check-in.

Directors of the Office of Cultural Affairs as well as REDI told residents how their businesses impacted Columbia.

Then the meeting was turned over to residents with a hypothetical situation.

Residents were given a $60 million budget with a list of $110 million worth of projects to fund.

Residents then had to decide which projects were the most important because they couldn’t afford to fund all of them.

Choices included fire station projects, municpal service centers like police and fire stations, and road renovations, to name a few.

This situation was an opportunity for citizens to voice their opinion on their priorities because council members will actually be asking for $60 million on a ballot next August, and they’ll have to choose from the same choices which to fund.

First ward council woman Ginny Chadwick said Tuesday night’s activity was an important one.

“It’s really what do the constituents find most important in our city that we need to fund and we want to listen to their priorities,” Chadwick said. “We can go through and shuffle papers and try and decide what we find most important as council members but its the constituents that we’re really here to serve.”

Several constituents agreed Columbia needs a new fire training facility as several new fire trucks. Many thought roads were a priority for funding as well.

The ballot next August will be for a 10 year capital improvement project.