There are no shortages of issues to discuss in the City of Champaign these days. For starters, there is the hiring of a new Police Chief. The four candidates were in town last week for several rounds of interviews. Next, there are the budget discussions concerning the closing of the police front desk and the browning out of a company at Station Four in the Fire Department. And lastly, we have the discussion of adding 4 cents to our gas taxes at the pump. These are all very important issues that affect our City. They weigh heavily on my mind as I wade through each one and try to decide what how each one will impact our lives.

Last month the Council made an important historical decision to open all Council meetings to Audience Participation. Tonight's meeting will be a very different meeting in that we have a Special Council meeting to vote on bills AND a Study Session of four topics. At the conclusion we will allow public comments, per our new agenda. It is likely that one or more of these current topics will be subjects of these comments. I welcome them. The Council does not operate in a vacuum. I want to hear the public, regardless of the topic. People are not always going to agree with my vote, but I hope they will listen to my arguments as I listen to theirs.