CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Not all the council members who showed up for the first community input session to meeting to discuss the 2025 budget were happy about how way it went.
The meeting with District 1 residents was held at Brewster Street Icehouse near Whataburger Field on Monday night. It was a more intimate setup than ones in the past because that’s what council asked for in an effort to get more people to show up.
”The format we used was based on council input or request is one of an open house style format where there’s no focal point per se," Zanoni said. "There’s no sit down and wait to be heard type thing."
About 35 people showed up and were able to speak directly to city department staff members about their concerns and questions over the proposed budget and could even write them down.
However, District 4 Councilman Gil Hernandez wants a more traditional meeting setup with a microphone for his community budget session on Aug. 14.
"In the past when you give a presentation people would ask questions," he said. "You can gain a lot by what questions people are asking right so we didn’t have that opportunity at this particular meeting."
City Manager Peter Zanoni said if Hernandez can have a microphone if that is what he prefers.
"We can work with the councilmen," Zanoni said. "Right now, the format is that it’s an open house. We could have a spot with a microphone. What we have seen is that that type of format across the city is not getting the people out."
The next community meeting will be for District 2 residents from 6 to 7 p.m. at the Terrance Restaurant on Alameda Street.
Councilman Hernandez's meeting will be at the Del Mar Oso Creek Campus along Yorktown on Aug. 14.