It's not every day a city goes out and asks its residents for their ideas on the municipal budget. But then, it's not every day a city the size of Ashland (population 21,000+) has a potential budget deficit of millions of dollars.
So the city reached out for help getting feedback, and hired the Southern Oregon University Research Center (SOURCE) to assist in formatting and delivering a survey. It will go out with city utility bills in June.
We get an overview of the budget process, the survey process, and the next steps in a four-way interview: Ashland City Manager Joseph Lessard, Deputy City Manager Sabrina Cotta, SOURCE Director Eva Skuratowicz, and SOU Professor Emeritus Dan Rubenson.