Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin will hold two upcoming town halls meetings in the city to get residents input on the road ahead at City Hall.
The town hall meetings are scheduled for 9 a.m. Wednesday at Waubonsie Valley High School, 2590 Ogden Ave.; and 6:30 p.m. June 19 at West Aurora High School, 1201 W. New York St.
According to a press release from the mayor’s office, attendees will include Irvin, along with representatives from his transition team.
Irvin said he is looking to lay out a plan over the next four years that will represent the city he has been elected to lead and is hoping the community will speak out on its interests and needs, as well as critique what’s been done up until now.
The town hall meetings “are part of the transition process that will help guide our subcommittees,” Irvin said.
“We have about half a dozen subcommittees working that are expected to provide plans by the end of this month that include things like economic development, education, and governmental process, and my goal is to reach out to the community through these town halls and get people’s involvement and suggestions as well as criticisms,” Irvin said.
Irvin added he wants there to be “a buy in from the community at large” for his program and wants residents “to have an opportunity to speak about the things they’d like to see me do during the next four years in order to have a successful administration.”
“I want to know we’re doing the right things and if there is something that our citizens want, we want to try and give it to them,” Irvin said. “We want to address needs, and I plan to focus on short-terms goals we can address right away as well as others that are more long term.”
Irvin acknowledged that budgetary considerations are always part of the decision process but that there may be changes in policy based on ideas offered from constituents. Irvin said that while he has his own ideas about some of Aurora’s more pressing needs, he preferred not to talk about them prior to the meetings.
“I want this forum to be something where people have their say and I’m looking for fresh ideas,” he said. “I want there to be a clean slate, and I want to know what people think.”
Those who want to attend are asked to register by phone at 630-256-3010, email at MyAurora@aurora-il.org, or online at Eventbrite sites tiny.cc/TownHall1 (for the June 14 meeting) or tiny.cc/TownHall2 (for the June 19 meeting).
David Sharos is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News
