TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) - Tallahassee leaders and county commissioners came together Monday night to hear from the community. From Iowa Caucus predictions to discussing crime rates in the capitol city, the "Our Town: Tallahassee Town Hall" didn't leave out anything.
This year's meeting was held at the Bible Based Church on the South side of Tallahassee. City leaders answered questions ranging from police presence and crime to economic development.
The meeting paired commissioners from both the city and county to create cross-governmental discussion. Local residents were encouraged to attend to create a more open community dialogue. However, some felt the room was lacking community member presence like South side resident Marie Bryant, "the meeting really needed to be more focus driven by the community. It's a very good meeting, but I'm still looking for our community. Where are our people?"
Commissioner Gil Ziffer also commented on the lack of local residents in attendence, "I'm glad that we were down here and we discussed a great many things, but it was a disappointment that we didn't have greater representation from the neighborhoods that are in our area. So I think we need to do a better job of reaching out so that the next time we come down we can have a better discussion."
The town hall meeting was sponsored by the Village Square, a nonprofit formed by local leaders, from both sides of the political divide in order to improve civic dialogue. Another event will be held next week called "Speed Date Your Local Leaders. That event will be held at the St. John's Episcopal Church on North Monroe Street on February 11th from 5:30pm to 7:30pm.
